I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and had no idea where I was or how I ended up in that bedroom. I sat up, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and realised I was naked, save for my boxer briefs. My blazer was on the floor, and so were my jeans.

I froze when I looked to my right; Harper was lying on the bed beside me, wearing my shirt and nothing else.

Fuck.

I racked my brain, trying to remember anything past dancing with her in the living room. I rubbed my forehead. We were standing in the hallway at one point, and...fuck. We kissed.

I was afraid to remember anything else. I just needed to leave before she woke up. I slid off the bed as carefully as I could, grabbed my blazer, socks and jeans and slipped out the door.

As I was getting dressed in the hallway, my phone fell out of my blazer. When I picked it up, there were four missed calls from Laura and text that said, "I love you, too. Call me back."

I sighed. What am I going to tell her?

When I got to the front door, I saw Miguel's shoes next to Evelyn's and figured he was still there. But waiting around for him was not an option. So, I left and made my way to the station, bare-chested under my blazer.

I couldn't help thinking that even if Harper and I hadn't done anything, it sure looked like we had. I felt like I was in college again, but not in a good way. I stared at my naked ring finger as the train rolled along, trying to decide which felt worse: the headache or the sinking feeling that I had cheated on my wife.

After getting home, I chased some Tylenol with coffee and decided to go for a run. I needed to clear my head. But on my way down in the elevator, I remembered my encounter with Nathan in the park yesterday. Definitely not going there today.

Instead, I went down by the river to run. The waters were a milky turquoise while they flowed along the rocky banks. I breathed in the crisp air and took out my earbuds to listen to the roaring rapids. And for a moment, I forgot the night I'd had.

I felt more relaxed on the way back until I was a block away from my apartment, and saw Nathan's truck parked across the street. I stopped dead in my tracks, frantically looked around, but didn't see him anywhere.

I was not about to go home knowing he was nearby; that didn't seem wise. So I turned around, went to the closest station, hopped on the first train that came by and rode it to the mall.

Did he follow me yesterday? I wasn't paying attention after Miguel and I left the bookstore. He could have easily parked on another street, hung around and watched from somewhere. Does he know where I live?

Those were the thoughts on my mind as I wandered around the mall. And after an hour, I decided to call Miguel.

"Morning, man," he sounded groggy.

"Morning. Are you still at Stan's?"

"Yeah, why?"

I need someone to talk to.

"Dom?"

"Can you come to Urban Mall?"

"Yeah, I think Evelyn's waking up. She'll probably want to grab something to eat—"

"I was hoping you could come by yourself," I interrupted.

"Oh."

Miguel paused for a moment before continuing. "Is everything okay, bro?"

"I don't know," I sighed.

"Okay, well, can you wait for me to get Evelyn home and maybe get her a bite to eat?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I can wait."

"Okay, I'll get there as soon as I can. Get something to eat while you wait, alright?"

"I will."

But I didn't feel like eating anything and ended up roaming the mall until Miguel arrived. Then we found an empty table at the edge of the food court where we could talk.

"Not gonna lie, man," Miguel pushed back his coal-black hair, "you're kinda scaring me. You don't look good—and not just in the 'I'm hungover' kinda way. What are you even doing here?"

I rubbed the back of my head. "What happened last night?"

"You got shitfaced."

"I mean after that."

Miguel took a deep breath. "You and Harper were all over each other at one point. Way too handsy," he said, glancing at the black ring on my finger.

"Then what happened?"

"You passed out, and I took you to one of the empty bedrooms and put you in the recovery position on the bed. Didn't want you choking on your own puke."

"Thanks," I replied.

He nodded and sighed.

"When did Harper go into that room?"

"Wait, what?" Miguel said.

I shook my head and told him what happened when I woke up.

"Fuck, man," Miguel said.

My thoughts exactly.

"I thought she went home after I put you to bed," he continued. "I swear she was gone when Evelyn and me, you know—I didn't think she was gonna come back—if I knew that, I would have taken you home."

"I know," I sighed.

We both sat there, staring at the table in silence for a minute.

"Are you sure you guys actually—"

"I don't know," I said before he could finish. "I don't know."

"What are you gonna tell Laura?"

I exhaled. "I don't know."

Another pause followed before I broke the silence.

"And as to why I'm here," I said, "it's about yesterday."

Miguel furrowed his brow. "What about yesterday?"

"I think someone's stalking me."

"Who?" Miguel's dark eyes showed a flash of concern.

"The guy I ran into at the park."