“And me? The only one interested in me was some dancer she planted—just for fun…” Lana muttered bitterly to herself.

At twenty-four, Lana was still a virgin—unlike her inseparable friend, who, by the same age, had become quite experienced and discerning when it came to men.

Immersed in her heavy thoughts, Lana suddenly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was her mother, crying into the receiver.

“Mom, you’re crying… What happened?” The loud music and noise made it hard to hear, so she rushed outside. Out in the street, she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Vitya… he was in an accident, Lana,” her mother sobbed.

“Oh God!” Lana gasped, covering her face with her hand.

“He’s in intensive care. Come quickly.”

Like someone in a trance, Lana ran into the street, flagged down the first taxi she saw, and rushed to the hospital. She texted Victoria: “I left. Urgent family stuff.”

She didn’t tell her what had happened, thinking that Victoria might not come to the hospital alone—and she didn’t want to explain to her mother who these men were. Meanwhile, Victoria, having shaken off her persistent admirer, returned to their table. Not finding her friend, she immediately took out her phone to call her. But after reading the text, she relaxed.

“She probably ran home from being overwhelmed,” Victoria thought with a smirk.

After sitting alone for a while, she decided it was time to go “home” herself—meaning the dorm. She slung her dainty purse over her shoulder and got up. Just then, she spotted a familiar silhouette not far away. A young man was talking to some woman. Victoria fixed her hair and pulled down the hem of her short dress, then headed straight for him. She poked him in the side from behind. He raised an eyebrow, turned sharply, and when he saw her, lit up.

“Vika??”

“Yup! Rob, how are you?” she smiled, showing off her dazzling white teeth.

“Long time no see… And you’ve only gotten more beautiful,” he said with a lustful look and smiled back.

Less than an hour later, they stumbled into her dorm room, lips locked in a passionate kiss, and collapsed onto the bed.

Early in the morning, straight from the hospital, Lana returned to the dorm to pack her things. Her mother had asked her to stay at home for a while until her father recovered. The bathrooms and showers were shared on each floor, just like the kitchen. Usually, a line formed there in the mornings—but that was on weekdays. Today was Sunday, and everyone was still asleep. Everyone except Vika and her guest, who walked into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist to get dressed. Vika remained in the shower.

When the man entered their room, he came face-to-face with Lana, standing there with her travel bag at her feet. Her mouth slightly open, she stared at the nearly naked stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. He didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed—he even winked at her. Approaching the bed, he grabbed his clothes and began dressing, dropping the wet towel to the floor.

Lana remained frozen, staring at the movement of muscles across the completely naked man’s back. Even though he was facing away, this was the first time in her life she had seen anything like it. Finally, after pulling on his trousers, he turned around and began buttoning a shirt—still damp with a stain on the chest. He gave her a smile. Meeting his piercing gaze, Lana snapped out of it, quickly lowered her head, and turned away.

“Sorry about that. We thought you’d be back later. I didn’t get a chance to clean up,” he said with a mocking tone.