Page 77 of Dating Goals
I slide my platinum card into the crack between door and frame, wiggling it up and down like I’ve seen in films. The card bends alarmingly but the door remains stubbornly locked.
“Come on, you’ve got a 100,000 limit. The least you could do is open a door,” I grumble at the card.
After thirty seconds of embarrassing scraping sounds, I accept defeat and pocket my now-warped credit card.
My next brilliant idea involves throwing my shoulder against the door, which I immediately reconsider. If I dislocate something, Coach will have my head on a platter. And explaining a shoulder injury from playing amateur spy? Not a conversation I want to have.
“Maybe I could kick it down?” I wonder aloud, eyeing the solid wood skeptically. “That always looks so easy in movies.”
I step back, eyeing the door with newfound determination.
It looks solid. Probably solid enough to break my foot if I try to kick it down. But Anika might be in trouble, and I can’t just stand here.
“This is going to hurt,” I tell myself, mentally preparing to channel my inner action hero. I take two steps back, lift my leg, and…
The door clicks softly and swings open on its own.
I lower my foot and peer into the darkness beyond. The room appears to be some kind of study. Leather-bound books line mahogany shelves, a massive desk dominates one corner, and the faint scent of cigars and expensive booze hangs in the air.
“Hello?” I call, stepping cautiously inside. “Anika?”
Silence greets me as I scan the dark study. My eyes dart to every corner, even checking the ceiling in case someone’s pulling a Spider-Man and waiting to pounce. Nothing but ornate crown molding. A grandfather clock ticks ominously in the corner.
“This is getting weird,” I mutter, moving deeper into the room.
Something’s off. The air feels…disturbed, like someone just left.
I circle the room, checking behind furniture, under the massive desk, feeling increasingly foolish. What am I even doing? Anika’s a grown woman who can talk to whoever she wants. Maybe they just moved to another room for privacy.
The thought makes my stomach clench uncomfortably.
Then, I notice it. The bookshelf against the far side of the office isn’t quite flush with the wall. A sliver of darkness peeks through where it’s slightly ajar.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I breathe, approaching the shelf. “A secret passage? Really?”
I peer into the gap between the bookcase and wall. Cool air wafts from the opening, and beyond lies a dark corridor disappearing into shadows.
“This is either the coolest or the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,” I think, pulling the bookshelf wider. Anika went this way. I’m sure of it.
Here goes nothing. I tap the flashlight icon on my phone and step inside. The passage stretches ahead, disappearing around a bend.
“Focus on the journey, not the destination,” I chant to myself. Unsurprisingly, my grandmother’s inspirational quotes aren’t quite cutting it right now.
A dim light flickers somewhere deep in the passage. Anika?
I press on through the corridor, quickening my steps.
“Anika?” I call out, voice bouncing off stone walls. “If you can hear me, just know that I’m either rescuing you or making a complete fool of myself. Fifty-fifty at this point.”
The passage slopes upward now, and a cool draft brushes against my face, carrying the faint scent of pine and snow. My pace quickens despite the voice in my head asking what exactly my plan is when I find her. Hey, Anika, sorry about that woman draping herself all over me like a cashmere throw. Totally not what it looked like. Also, why did you run off with a Bond villain?
The tunnel gradually widens, and up ahead, I spot a rectangle of silvery light. An exit?
I quicken my pace, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste. As I approach, the light resolves into what appears to be a doorway leading outside.
I push through and find myself stepping onto a stunning terrace, framed by elegant arched columns and overlooking a sweeping view of the Alps. The night sky stretches above, scattered with stars. And there, silhouetted against the moonlight, stands Anika.
My breath catches in my throat.
