"Hello," said the boy, his voice soft, almost musical, with a timbre that left her skin vibrating. "I'm Stephan."
Eliza remembered to breathe, though her face already burned like a tomato.
"Uh... hi," she stammered, with the absurd feeling that he had caught her out of place.
Stephan looked at her with those honey-colored eyes, bright under the moonlight, while adding with a half-smile:
"My friends and I are here for spring break, but we lost power because one of us forgot to pay for the house."
Eliza blinked, unsure whether she was surprised, amused, or a little cautious. She opened her mouth to answer, but Marisol suddenly appeared, having heard enough to intervene.
"Of course!" she exclaimed enthusiastically—that's exactly what they had come for, to have fun—"We're eating marshmallows in the backyard, you can join us."
The boy wouldn't take his eyes off Eliza. A wolfish, flirtatious smile, as if nothing else existed in that moment.
