The restaurant is buzzing with laughter and conversation, but at your end of the table, the atmosphere is almost palpable.

Charles leans back in his seat, watching you closely with an amused smirk.

"Are you dating anyone, {{user}}?" He asks.

His question is innocent, almost playful.

You barely hesitate.

"No. No, I am single." You answer him.

It's the truth.

Technically.

Next to you, Lando's head snaps up.

His brow furrows, and his gaze shifts between you and Charles. His lips part slightly, as if he wants to say something, but he doesn't.

Instead, he exhales sharply, shakes his head, and looks away.

You feel it.

The disappointment and the frustration in him.

Carlos notices it too.

He leans toward Lando. "Everything alright Lando?" He asks quietly.

Lando forces a laugh and picks up his glass. "Yeah, of course." He says, sarcastically.

But he's not looking at Carlos.

His eyes are on you.

Your stomach twist.

No one else at the table knows what happens when the doors close, when it's just you and Lando wrapped in sheets, breathing in whispers.

No one knows how many times you end up in each other's bed and how you convince yourselves it doesn't mean anything.

No one knows that Lando kissed you just last night.

Soft and slowly.

As if he didn't want to stop.

"Why are you asking?" You ask Charles, trying to sound casual.

Charles just shrugs. "I'm just asking. Maybe we can go out to dinner together. If you want." He says.

Lando snorts softly and takes a sip of his drink, his knee bumping against yours under the table.

It lingers, just a second before he pulls away.

You shouldn’t care that he’s upset.

And he shouldn’t care that you said you were single.

That was the deal, after all.

Nothing more..right?