Roman began picking Elliot up every morning.

On the first day, coffee waited in the cup holder and breakfast sat in a paper bag on the passenger seat.

"You know I can take the bus."

Roman glanced at the dashboard clock. "You'll be late."

Elliot got into the car.

The next morning, Roman handed him a breakfast sandwich.

"I'm not hungry."

"You skipped dinner."

Elliot unwrapped it.

By the third morning, he accepted the coffee without arguing. Roman turned up the radio, and they drove to the studio in comfortable silence.

The arrangement began changing Elliot's work.

He no longer tensed whenever Roman approached during rehearsal. Their movements found a rhythm, and Elliot stopped counting the seconds until each touch ended.

Elena noticed during the rooftop reconciliation scene.

"Whatever you've changed, keep it," she said.

Elliot looked down at his script.

Roman returned to his mark without comment.

They spent the following days filming the argument in the rain, the rooftop reunion and several quieter scenes between Noah and Julian. Elliot remembered every line and responded naturally to Roman's movements.

For the first time, he enjoyed their scenes without immediately searching for an explanation.

One morning, Roman stopped at a red light several blocks from the studio.

Rain moved across the windshield.

"Elliot."

He looked over.

Roman's hand remained on the steering wheel. "Can I kiss you?"

Elliot thought he had misheard him. "Here?"

"Yes."

"We don't have a scene to rehearse."

"I'm aware."

The traffic light remained red. Roman waited without moving closer.

Elliot could have reminded him of the rules. He could have looked away and allowed the moment to pass.

"Yes," he said.

Roman leaned across the console.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds. Roman touched Elliot's jaw and drew back before the car behind them sounded its horn.

He faced the road and continued driving.

Elliot sat beside him with the untouched coffee warming his hands.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened.

The kiss disrupted the rest of Elliot's morning.

He missed his first mark, forgot a line and dropped his water bottle during a lighting reset.

Dana caught it before it rolled beneath the camera track. "Rough night?"

"I'm fine."

She handed back the bottle. "Try looking convinced when you say that."

Elena stopped the third take and called for a short break.

Elliot walked behind the set and pressed both hands against his face.

Roman had asked. Elliot had agreed. The memory should not have made it impossible to remember six lines of dialogue.

Roman did not approach him during the break.

When filming resumed, he remained focused and gave Elliot enough room to recover. His composure irritated Elliot, though Elliot could not have explained what reaction he expected.

They wrapped at eight.

Roman's sedan waited in the parking lot. Elliot climbed into the passenger seat without being invited.

The first half of the drive passed in silence.

At another red light, Elliot stared through the windshield. "We shouldn't have kissed this morning."

Roman's hands tightened slightly around the wheel. "All right."

"It wasn't covered by the agreement."

"You said yes."

"I know."

Roman drove when the light changed.

Elliot watched his profile. "Are you going to say anything else?"

"What would help?"

"I don't know."

"Then I won't guess."

That answer ended the conversation.

Roman stopped outside Elliot's building and shifted the car into park.

Elliot reached for the door.

"Wait."

Roman took a silver ring from his coat pocket.

"This fell from the jacket you wore during rehearsal."

Elliot accepted it. The surface was worn smooth with age.

"I've seen this before."

Roman looked toward the street.

"You wore it in college," Elliot continued.

"Yes."

"Why was it in your jacket?"

"I kept it there."

Elliot turned the ring between his fingers. "You carried it around for eight years?"

Roman offered no explanation.

Elliot held it out. "Take it."

"You can keep it."

"It belongs to you."

Roman looked at the ring. "I bought it for you."

Elliot lowered his hand.

"When?"

"Before graduation."

Rain tapped against the windshield.

Elliot examined the silver band again. "You never gave it to me."

"I didn't get the chance."

"You could have mailed it."

"I didn't know where you went."

Roman's voice remained controlled, though fatigue showed in his eyes.

"Why buy me a ring at all?" Elliot asked.

Roman looked toward the road.

"Roman."

"I wanted you to have something that proved I meant it."

"Meant what?"

Roman's jaw tightened.

Elliot waited.

The silence stretched until Roman reached over and closed Elliot's fingers around the ring.

"Keep it tonight," he said. "You can return it tomorrow."

"That still doesn't answer me."

"I know."

Roman withdrew his hand.

Elliot got out of the car and entered the building. When he reached his apartment, he placed the ring on the coffee table.

He sat across from it for several minutes.

The band looked simple under the lamp. When Elliot picked it up again, he noticed a faint engraving along the inside.

E.H.

His initials had been there for eight years.

Elliot leaned back against the couch.

Roman had planned to give him the ring before graduation. That same night, Elliot had blocked his number and left without saying goodbye.

He remembered the morning kiss and Roman waiting at the red light for permission.

The same man had once waited with a ring in his pocket.

Elliot closed his hand around it and remained awake until dawn.