Bech had chosen to stay away from Jade for a while. She avoided places she knew he would be, like the public library, the open-air bar, or the washing bay near the open-air bar. She did not answer his calls or messages, even though she read each of his messages twice, first for an overview, then for context. Today, she was at home, trying to catch up with her reading. But she just couldn’t keep him out of her mind. It had been a week since their last encounter but every day felt like a loop, replaying until she fell asleep. Once or twice she had had the same dream as the first one, but this time the dream began with Jade confessing his undying affection for her and kissing her passionately.