She nodded, finding the words oddly comforting. There was something undeniably magnetic about him, something that made the night feel just a little less lonely.
"Would you like to sit for a while?" Elliot asked, gesturing to the bench beneath the oak tree. "I was just about to take a break."
Lila hesitated, but only for a moment. Something about him felt safe, familiar, as though they had met before. She sat beside him, her eyes drifting to the book in his hands as he opened it.
The evening stretched on, the soft murmur of their conversation blending with the rustling of the trees. Lila had no idea how much time passed, only that it felt like the night was slipping away too quickly.
As they spoke about everything and nothing, there was a gentle pull between them, an invisible thread that seemed to tie them together in the quiet moments of their shared solitude.
When the time came for Lila to leave, she felt a pang of reluctance. "I should get going," she said, standing up from the bench.
Elliot stood as well, a soft smile playing on his lips. "I'll walk you out, if you don't mind."
They walked in companionable silence under the moonlight, the city park now bathed in the soft glow of early dawn. When they reached the park's entrance, Lila turned to face him, her heart unexpectedly racing.
"It was nice to meet you, Elliot," she said, the words slipping out more easily than she had anticipated.
"Likewise," he replied, his voice soft but genuine. "Maybe we can meet again sometime."
Lila smiled, her thoughts swirling. "I'd like that."
With a final glance, she turned and walked toward her apartment, her heart fluttering with something new, something unfamiliar.
And as she glanced back one last time, she saw him standing there, his figure framed by the moonlight, watching her go.