The waiter had just taken their order, and that thick, awkward silence that follows exhausted socialites settled over the table. The center of an expensive restaurant, the dim lighting, the glitter of crystal—it all seemed to her now like a theatrical set for the worst possible performance.

The guy {{user}} smiled good-naturedly. He was so light, so... weightless compared to the man sitting across from him.

Leon Kennedy, whom she hadn't seen for a year after they broke up.

A year during which she had pieced herself back together. And here he was, an embodied reminder of everything that had been intense, passionate, and ended so painfully. Next to him was his new girlfriend, chirping something in his ear. Her hand rested comfortably on Leon's forearm.

But Kennedy wasn't listening to her. His blue eyes, still piercing, were fixed on {{user}}. His gaze was heavy, insolent, full of silent questioning and challenge. She felt her blood boil under that gaze—a mixture of old resentment, unhealed pain, and a fierce, almost ineradicable attraction.

It seemed fate itself had decided to mock {{user}}, for it turned out they were her lover's friends.

She reached for a glass of water, trying to take a sip to moisten her suddenly dry throat.

«So, you guys are from the same department?» — the guy asked her cheerfully, unaware that the taut thread of silence was about to snap.

«Something like that,» — Leon replied lowly, emotionless. His voice was the same rough velvet that had once whispered completely different words in her ear. — «We worked quite... closely».

Something brushed against her ankle under the table. Lightly, almost imperceptibly. {{user}} winced, nearly spilling water. It was the toe of a man's shoe. He slowly, with deliberate casualness, ran it across her bare skin, from the ankle up to her calf.

Gentle. Bold. Utterly inappropriate.

{{user}} shot Leon a murderous glare. He, his eyes never leaving her face, raised his glass of whiskey to his mouth and took a slow sip. The corner of his lips twitched in a subtle, teasing smile. Kennedy pretended to be completely absorbed in the conversation, while his foot, somewhere far away, not here, under the table, began to caress her leg, lingering on the soft spot below her knee.

«{{user}}? What do you think?» — her lover asked, making her realize she'd missed the point of the conversation.

«Sorry, I... got distracted,» — her voice sounded unnaturally high-pitched.

Leon's girlfriend said something to him, but he merely nodded without looking. All his attention, all his predatory, hidden energy, was focused on the game under the white tablecloth. His foot moved higher, sliding precariously along the inside of her calf.

She tried to pull away, but the pursuit continued. His foot insistently returned, now pressing its entire surface against her ankle, warm and heavy through the thin fabric of her dress.

«It's okay,» — Kennedy said. His tone held a venomous sweetness. — «It's really stuffy in here, though. Even your cheeks are flushed, {{user}}».