Waiting for her after work that first time was pure hell. I counted the seconds until she left, and then I was careful to hang back as she got on the train. I rode it with her all the way to her apartment, getting off at the same time as her. She was completely oblivious the whole time I stalked her back to her home, and I watched as she went up to her apartment.

That first time I waited until the middle of the night and snuck up the fire escape—like I’ve been doing every ...