I stepped onto the mat, my heart thumping with a mix of excitement, nerves, and the edge of something darker—probably the soul withdrawal. Carter stood across from me, his golden aura shimmering with energy, contrasting with the shadows clinging to my own.

"Ready to learn some real moves?" His tone was light, playful, but there was an intensity in his eyes that made my pulse quicken.

“How do you still have that much energy after today’s class?”

Carter grinned, that easy smile that always seemed to cut through the darkness. “I’m just excited. It’s been a while since I’ve had a real opponent.”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “If by ‘real opponent’ you mean me, I think you’re overestimating my abilities. You’ll have to go easy on the newbie.”

His laugh was warm, but I could see the concern in his eyes as they flicked to my trembling hands. I hadn’t reaped a soul in days, and the withdrawal symptoms were hitting again. I appreciated Carter not bringing up my troubles and was able to force any thoughts of reaping souls aside, focusing instead on Carter’s instructions.

He started with the basics—stances and blocks that were similar to the kickboxing moves we practiced in class. His hands were firm but gentle as he adjusted my posture, the touch sending a spark of warmth through me. I tried to remind myself that it was too soon after Phillip, that I didn't want to get entangled in another relationship. But my body had other ideas.

And God, Carter smelled so good, like apple pie spice and sunshine, a scent that wrapped around me, comforting and unsettling all at once.

As we moved into more complex techniques, I found myself picking things up faster than I should have. It was as if I could anticipate Carter’s movements, see the trajectory of his strikes before he even made them. Or maybe my reflexes were just sharper than I realized.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow as I countered one of his attacks with surprising ease.

I shrugged, equally surprised. "Beginner's luck, I guess. Or maybe those two years of kickboxing with Kat are finally paying off."

But deep down, I knew it was more than that. I felt stronger, faster—like something inside me had woken up. Another side effect of my new... abilities?

Despite my newfound skills, Carter’s experience eventually won out. With a swift movement, he swept my legs out from under me. I grabbed his arm as I fell, pulling him down with me. We landed on the mat in a tangled heap, his body pressing against mine.

For a heartbeat, we just lay there, staring at each other, breathless. His eyes were a mesmerizing stormy blue, so close that I could see the flecks of gray in them. I felt myself leaning in, drawn by a force I couldn’t name.

But then Carter pulled back, rolling onto his back beside me. "I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice rough.

"For what?" I asked, still caught in the moment, my heart pounding.

He turned his head to look at me, a rueful smile playing on his lips. "For... well, I was about to kiss you. I don’t know what came over me. I’m not usually—relationships aren’t really my thing, with all my traveling and all."

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"Right," I said, ignoring the pang of disappointment. "Me neither. Not after… well, you know."

But the truth was, Phillip had been gone from my heart long before we broke up. I’d just been too afraid to leave him. Afraid of what Phillip would do if I broke up with him, and truth be told, I was afraid of being…lonely, not that being with Phillip had filled that void.

We lay there for a moment longer, the silence heavy with things unsaid. Finally, Carter pushed himself up and offered me a hand. "We should probably hit the showers," he said, the playful tone back in his voice.

I chuckled, trying to shake off the lingering tension. “But not together.”

“Oh, did Kal Edwards just make a joke?” he teased, flashing that smile again, the one that carried me away from my struggles, if even for a moment.

After cleaning up and changing, we met back in the gym's lobby. “Coffee time?” I suggested.

Carter shook his head, running a hand through his damp hair. “I can’t today. I have to pack; I’m flying out for Paris in a few hours.”

“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. “For your job? An assignment?”

He nodded. “Just a short one. I’ll be back in less than a week. You still going to Bean Town?”

“Yeah,” I replied, thinking of the barista with the blinking green soul. “It’s kind of become my routine.”

“I’ll walk you there,” Carter offered, his smile softening. “I’ve got a few minutes.”

We walked in comfortable silence, the late morning sun warming our skin. As we reached the coffee shop, Carter turned to me, his expression suddenly serious.

“Well, this is where I leave you,” he said, his golden aura shimmering.

Before I could respond, he leaned in and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to my cheek, just like the first day we’d had coffee together. Even though he had done this before, this time, it my body reacted differently. A jolt of electricity seemed to light up my entire body, grounding me in the moment, making everything else fade away— the cravings, the supernatural world, all of it. For just a second, I was just Kal Edwards, a confused twenty-two-year-old college dropout, experiencing a moment.

Carter pulled back, his eyes searching mine. “Sorry,” he said quickly. "I'm just a touchy-feely kind of guy. Didn't mean to overstep, but that kind of thing comes naturally to me. Won’t happen again."

I found myself smiling, despite the confusion swirling inside me. “Too bad,” I teased, surprising myself. “I kind of liked it.”

He laughed, the sound like sunlight breaking through the clouds. “Want me to walk you in?”

My gaze flickered to the barista inside, her green aura pulsing. The cravings hit me again, harder this time, a sharp reminder of my grim reality. "No,” I said, too quickly. “I’ll be fine. You should go pack.”

Carter nodded, giving my hand a final squeeze before turning to leave. I watched him go, the weight of my secret pressing down on me once more.

But then, just as he was about to disappear around the corner, I found myself calling out, “Hey, Carter?”

He turned back, his eyes lighting up as he walked toward me again. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say thank you,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could second-guess myself. “For finding me that night, confused and wandering the side of the road. I was in a dark place, and I didn’t know how to dig myself out of the hole I felt I dug for myself.” I laughed dryly. “Now, I know that hole was so insignificant in the scheme of everything going on in the world. I just want to thank you for…I don’t know…showing me that there are good people out there in the world. For stopping to help me, even though I said I didn’t need it. I dunno. I just appreciate…you More than you know.”

Carter smiled, that same easy smile that always made the world feel a little brighter. “Kal, you’re breaking my heart,” he said, his voice teasing, but his eyes were soft, serious. “How am I supposed to leave now?”

I chuckled, feeling a warmth spread through me. “I didn’t mean it to be depressing. It was just…an uplifting thought.” I grabbed both his shoulders, then spun him around, giving him a little push away from me. “Go on, don’t miss your flight. I’ll see you when you get back.”

He lingered for a moment, then nodded, turning away again. I watched him go, feeling the ache of something unfinished.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the coffee shop door, my eyes already drawn to the barista's flickering aura. Back to my new normal—an obsession with the color of people’s souls, no matter how abnormal it might be.