SIX

The Stranger on a London Night

Lolita’s head was blank. She couldn’t think. Everything seemed to have been blurred out, leaving only her and Hayden.

Hayden.

She couldn’t get over his name, but she didn’t remember him, either. Whatever he was talking about didn’t register within her. He seemed to have read her face, because then he cocked his head to the side and smiled a little.

“You forgot,” he said.

She cleared her throat, and then sat down on the round table in front of her. He took a seat out of nowhere and flopped down beside her, staring intently at her.

“You did forget,” he pointed out, surprised. “I mean, I’m sure it’s been a couple of years, but you told me you’d never forget.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Our night together, Lola.”

She scoffed. “What a joke. This is the third time we’re meeting but somehow we’ve spent the night together?”

He bit his lips, thinking. “We didn’t exactly spend the night together.”

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “We didn’t spend a