If there was one thing that was always true about Luna, it was the fact that she measured her life in small but definable moments. She could quickly pinpoint moments in her life that happened around significant moments. Luna could give near-photographic accounts of events that occurred around seemingly innocuous moments, such as her losing red sneakers in a thick patch of mud after a stormy day. While such a small moment wouldn't seem significant to someone else, it was big enough for Luna to remember and for her to remember everything else that happened around her.

Looking back on it, she realized that when Luna met Erik, that moment changed how she thought about everything.

When Erik appeared in her life, it was as though he crashed into her life like a wayward blue alien in a rogue rocket ship catapulting into the Earth. His very presence in those first few moments, and every moment after, lit up the room in an explosion of multi-colored sparkles and brilliant shimmering lights. Luna could genuinely say that she had no idea what hit her.

Luna could remember the day Erik arrived almost exactly. She had been enjoying a calm, quiet moment in the café she frequented. The café was a safe place for her, and it was her usual haunt to decompress and prepare herself for whatever was going to happen next in her life. Whenever she had a moment, she could be found in the café with her regular coffee order – a medium flat white, often iced. However, that day Luna opted to take her coffee hot. She had ordered it "to go," not planning to stay, but something told her to remain in the café. Not daring to question her feelings, Luna looked around and was relieved to find her usual table was available. She loved the table in the corner where she could easily people-watch and see who was coming and going. And so, Luna settled herself in for a stay.

She was lost in thought and the book sitting in front of her on the table, an open notebook beside it with her favorite pearlescent fountain pen sitting on top of the pages. She lazily held her cup of coffee in one hand, holding it near the lid. Luna was becoming increasingly less aware of how precarious her hold on the thin cup was, her fingers gravitating closer and closer to the top as she read. Her attention was momentarily pulled from her book at the twinkle of the overhead doorbell jingling as someone entered. Or, several someone's, rather. That was the first time that Luna took notice of Erik, and apparently, he had taken notice of her as well. For reasons still entirely unbeknownst to Luna, Erik walked right up to her table and sat down as if he knew her and he belonged to be sitting across from her.

Unaccustomed to random strangers walking up to her and sitting down at her table during what she deemed "her quiet time," Luna was at a loss. She had been in the process of taking a drink of her coffee, and she froze with her coffee halfway to her lips, her mouth parted with surprise. Luna stared at the rather tall gentleman across from her, trying to understand what the brown-haired man with grey eyes wanted with her. All Erik could do was smile at her stunned expression in response, his smile bright and sparkling and lighting up his face. He then nodded towards the book sitting in front of her, wiggling his eyebrows slightly as if he was in on a secret with her.

"That book," Erik said, his eyes flicking between the book and Luna. "The one you've got there; I've got some theories about the story."

Uncertain of what to do and what to make of this stranger, Luna could only set her coffee down. She wasn't expecting Erik's accent, and while she wanted to immediately ask him where he was from, that somehow felt too rude, and she was too startled. Luna looked down at the book before her, debating what she wanted to do. Ordinarily, Luna would politely ask Erik to leave, but a part of her was more curious to know if he actually knew what book she was reading or if he was bluffing. It wasn't as if he could see the book's cover with it lying flat on the table. Luna finally looked back up at Erik with a shy smile. She was surprised to find him staring at her expectantly, a silent excitement radiating from his entire being.

"And how do you know what book I'm reading?" Luna challenged, an eyebrow quirking.

"I just know," Erik replied with a slight shrug. "Well, anyway...."

And just like that, Luna was enamored by the stranger in front of her in a way she never expected. In just a few short sentences, she had found a connection with someone she had only met for the first time. Luna couldn't shake the feeling and thought that she was in the company of someone she wanted to keep her life. Even though Erik had never actually gotten around to telling her his theory about the series she was indeed reading, Luna spent hours talking to him that day. They talked about anything and everything – the weather, politics, everyday life, nothing, and everything. No topic seemed to be off-limits.

As the sun started to set, casting the sky outside into a dazzling cotton candy kaleidoscope of pinks and purples, Luna finally reached into her pocket to look at her phone. She frowned as she looked at the time and the never-ending list of notifications displayed across her screen.

"Oh," Luna said out loud in surprise as she scrolled through the notifications. Her brow furrowed slightly as she read through each message on her screen with a grimace. "Oh, no."

"Is everything all right?" Erik questioned. He sat up straight in his chair for a moment before leaning forward on the table with a look of concern.

"I, well...." Luna groaned, setting her phone down on the table and rubbing her hands over her face. "I don't think that my boyfriend is too happy with me right now."

"Oh," Erik answered with a tone of surprise in his voice. Luna had to steel herself for a moment to keep her surprise off her face. Even though she had been listening to Erik the entire afternoon, it was almost like his accent had disappeared, but that single word – a single letter, even – was said so much different than how she said it. Something about his "oh" stuck out in Luna's mind, but she wasn't sure what it was. She was acutely aware that something was hidden within the surprised tone, but Luna wasn't sure what. "You have a boyfriend," Erik added.

"I do," Luna said with a sheepish grin that shifted once more to a grimace when she saw a new notification light up her cell phone's screen. "He's uhm...he's something, that's for sure."

Erik nodded, almost to himself. His gaze was fixed on something on the wall furthest away from them. A small v formed between his brows, and his lips puckered slightly as he became momentarily lost in thought. Luna wished what was crossing Erik's mind, suddenly worried that she had insulted him somehow by informing him that she had a boyfriend. She didn't think that there was a flirtatious tone to their conversation, but she hadn't been flirted with in years, and even if he was, she would be completely clueless. As if a switch was suddenly flipped, Erik's face softened, and his brilliant smile returned, brightening up his face. Luna really wished she knew what he was thinking about.

"All right," Erik finally said. "You should bring him here at some point. I'd like to meet him."

It wasn't even the first time that Luna had been rendered speechless by something that Erik had said that day, and she couldn't help but laugh, "You barely even know me!"

"Not right now, no," Erik said, standing up. He ran his hands over his jeans before running a hand through his hair and then thrusting his hand out toward Luna. "But I think I know enough for now. I'm Erik, by the way. And...you are?"

Luna couldn't believe they had gone the entire afternoon without even introducing themselves. She stared at Erik's proffered hand for a moment before slowly standing up, closing her book, and then placing her hand in his.

"I'm Luna," she said, grinning slightly at the way Erik's cheeks flushed when she placed her hand in his. Standing up next to Erik, she was very aware of how tall he was, and she had to keep herself from giggling when he had to bend down to be more on her level.

"So, Luna," Erik said, not letting go of her hand just yet, "same time next week?"

When Luna finally returned to the two-story rented home she shared with her boyfriend Sam, she found that she was still reeling from her time with Erik. She hesitated for a long moment before exchanging numbers with him before leaving the café and snorted when she had barely left the building to find he had already sent her a message.

| Looking forward to next week! Maybe we'll finally discuss my theory.

Luna was just about to let Erik know she had made it home safely as requested, but she was interrupted.

"What has you smiling like that?"

She looked up from her phone to find Sam's dark eyes boring into hers, a frown on his face. It wasn't often that she stepped into the house to find Sam sitting in the dining room waiting for her. Usually, he would be in the living room playing whatever game had caught his attention and not waiting by the backdoor she usually entered. It should have been suspicious when the dogs didn't immediately run from the living room and took their time getting to her, not wanting to drag themselves from their nearby beds.

"A friend," Luna replied vaguely. She ignored Sam's questioning hum and shoved her phone back in her pocket without answering. Before Sam could dare say another word, she gave him a small smile and set into action. "I'll get dinner started in a minute." It was enough of a response to appease Sam, and he sauntered to the living room.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief as she settled into being back at the house. At least Sam wasn't asking her too many questions. She wasn't prepared to have to try and explain things, unsure of how Sam would take it. With another sigh, Luna took her shoes off at the door and let out one final sigh when she noticed Sam's shoes halfway across the room. Luna shrugged off her coat, draping it over a nearby chair for the moment, and frowned when she spotted the mess Sam had somehow managed to leave in his wake. She added it to the mental checklist of things she had to do. Luna knew she would probably be too tired to finish everything, but she would certainly try to finish as much as possible.

Not wanting to delay dinner any further, Luna stepped into the kitchen. She reached into the lower cabinets to pull out the pots she would need and lifted herself on her tiptoes to reach up and grab a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. Luna rifled through the drawers and cabinets to find everything she needed to make their chicken parmesan for the night. It took a little longer to make, and Luna knew just how much cleaning she would have to do afterward, but she wanted something that would end her day perfectly.

Luna stared at the ingredients in front of her and took a long breath. She knew that she should just start cooking, knowing that Sam, though distracted by his game, would be impatient to eat. However, Luna had one more thing to do before she started. She reached into her pocket, a small smile crossing her face when she pulled up Erik's text message.

| Looking forward to it.