The phone was ringing, but Ella wasn’t answering, and Rome started to get nervous. He had gotten to Mark’s apartment just after sun up because he hadn’t been able to sleep anyway. Mark was passed out in bed in his underwear. Rome only knew that because he went into his room to find his phone.
Finally, he heard her sweet voice in his ear. It was a whisper, as if she was trying not to be discovered, when she said, “Hello?”
“Ella? Hi. It’s Rome.”
“Hi.”
He could hear the smile in her voice. He wanted to ask her so many questions all at once. She must’ve thought he was crazy for climbing over the fence the night before, for scaling the side of her house, for proclaiming his love to her. But he couldn’t help himself. As silly as it sounded, he knew he loved her, too. Even the sound of her vo
