He was surprised at how relieved—almost euphoric—he’d been when she’d jogged up to his porch. The reaction was fueled by an emotion that was strange to him, one so unfamiliar that it had taken over hours to identify. Only now, as he sat by himself in the darkness, the warm air blanketing his barely-clothed body, did he become quite certain of what he’d felt. It was a feeling of recognition. He’d felt a flash of it the first time he and Adele had met, that night in the lobby, and it had been growing in intensity ever since. He recognized a like soul in her, if he were one to believe in souls. Looking into her eyes, he understood who she was, and felt, without knowing much about her at all, that she understood him, on the most fundamental level. The level that has nothing to do with what car we drive or what job we have. She understands, was the phrase that kept circling in his mind. Of course, there were other feelings: Attraction.
