Late-Night Texts

It was past 11 PM and I was still sprawled on my couch, laptop glowing on the coffee table, half-empty beer beside me. The Mustang restoration parts I’d planned to work on sat untouched in the garage. Work had been nonstop bullshit all day another client demanding changes, my boss breathing down my neck, and a campaign deadline creeping up like a bad hangover.

I stared at my phone. Without thinking too hard about it, I opened the chat with Alex.

Me: You still up? Or did you actually escape the office at a normal hour like a sane person?

The reply came faster than I expected.

Alex:...