Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Leda was blissfully unaware of the outside world as she casually snapped a photo of her home bar with her new phone, focusing on an inverted wine glass dangling elegantly, the background all blurred.

Captioning the photo, "Boring summer day, lazy afternoon," she hit post.

Tossing her phone onto the couch, she got up, barefoot, her steps graceful as she made her way into the bedroom.

Time for a nap, she thought.

The air-conditioned room was indeed a relief. No wonder Roseanne didn't want to step out...

Neither did she.

...

York had booked an indoor surfing session today.

The instructor was top-notch, hard to book, and although York had initially planned to stay in, the thought of missing out made him change his mind.

He had to admit, the instructor's reputation was well-deserved.

After a few rounds under his guidance, York felt his skills improve dramatically, almost frighteningly so.

Just as he was about to take a break and hit the waves solo, he casually checked his social media and stumbled upon Leda's post.

"Boring summer day, lazy afternoon..."Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

With the accompanying picture.

It was the kind of post most people would scroll past with nothing more than a thought: "Ah, the good life."

But York? He's a pro at the love game, and he saw straight through it.

Boring summer day-

Key word: Boring.

Subtext: I'm rich, I'm idle, I need company.

Lazy afternoon-

Key word: Lazy.

Subtext: I'm all laid out, who's coming to join?

And that focus on the wine glass.

Wine glasses are meant for wine.

It ain't the wine that gets ya tipsy, it's the vibe it brings!

Clear as day, each word was dripping with allure.

York got it in a heartbeat.

"That Leda-damn-"

He immediately grabbed his bathrobe, threw it on, and marched towards the showers.

From a distance, the instructor called out, "Mr. Gibson, done for the day?"

"Done!"

"Something urgent?"

"Very urgent!"

He's going to stop Leda!

Leda woke up around three in the afternoon, stretching languidly, feeling refreshed.

She wandered into the living room,

picked

aup her phone from the couch,

and checked to see who had caught on to her hint.

And, indeed, there were quite a few.

A: "Bored too. Grab a drink?"

B: "Seems like you're free lately. Me too."

C: "On my way."

D: "Is the door code the same?"

...

Leda smirked, satisfied. No more boredom for her.

But as time ticked by, two hours since the first message and still no knock at the door, she started to wonder. What's going on?

After waiting another ten minutes,

during which she poured herself some iced water, there was still no

sign of anyone.

She went to the front door, thinking to check if the doorbell was out of batteries.

The next second, a figure suddenly sprang up.

"Jesus" she almost dropped her glass, "York, are you insane?!"

Who in their right mind lurks at someone's doorstep?

And to leap up the moment the door opens, like some sort of ghost popping out of thin air, seriously?!

York's eyes were dark, fixated on her.

Leda felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze.

"What the "

"When did you change the door code?"

Last time he was here, the code worked fine, but now it was showing an error.

Leda looked at him, puzzled. "You know I changed it right after you last used it."

"Why?"

"Come on, dude, I'm a single woman living alone. How could I just let anyone know my door code? So they could come and go as they pleased? Dot look that dumb?"

Every single safety video online preaches to women living alone about how to keep themselves safe.