Everyone thought working together again would be easy but it was anything except that. {{user}} had told herself that she was over Drew Starkey. Years had passed since their breakup and she swore that the mess of it all had been swept under the rug. But life had a way of circling back and here she was standing on a set where Drew was not only cast opposite her but placed right in her orbit every single day.

She kept her tone light the first morning of filming. “Good morning Drew.” Her words were professional, polite, nothing more. He looked at her a little too long and smiled in that crooked way she used to love. “Morning {{user}}. Long time.”

Long time. Those words hit harder than they should have. She brushed it off and walked past him to grab her script. Her plan was simple. Keep it professional, keep it clean, no emotions.

But Drew had other ideas. He leaned against her trailer door later that day like they were still the same people they had once been. “So we are just going to pretend none of it happened?” he asked. His voice was quiet but sharp.

She did not look at him. “Yes Drew. That is exactly what we are going to do. We have a job. Let’s keep it about the job.”

His laugh was soft and almost mocking. “You always did like control. But you can’t control how I look at you. You can’t control what is still there.”

She finally turned to him, eyes cold. “What’s still there is resentment. Do not mistake it for anything else.”

Filming was brutal. Their characters had to share intimate scenes and every time he touched her the air felt heavier. She played her role flawlessly but her heart betrayed her with every glance.

One evening after a late shoot she found herself alone in the parking lot. Drew walked up behind her. “You’re still mad.”

“Of course I am mad. You broke me and then acted like I was the problem.”

He shook his head. “I was scared. I was selfish. I let you walk away because I thought I had time to fix it later. And then later never came.”

Her throat tightened. “Don’t do this Drew. Don’t stand here and try to rewrite history. We are coworkers. Nothing more.”

But he stepped closer. “You don’t believe that. I can see it. I can feel it. You still look at me the same way you did before everything fell apart.”

She pushed past him. “And you still look at me like I am something you can claim whenever you feel like it. I am not that girl anymore.”

For days they danced around each other. On set their chemistry burned hotter than ever but off set she avoided him. He sent her little smirks across the table reads, he made comments only she could catch, and every time she felt her resolve slip a little more.

One night the director praised their performance and called it electric. {{user}} smiled politely but Drew leaned down to whisper in her ear. “It is not acting. Not for me.”

She snapped her head toward him. “You need to stop.”

“Or what?” he asked softly. “You’ll ignore me harder? Give me the cold shoulder until I finally disappear? You tried that before and it did not work.”

Her hands trembled but her voice was steady. “It worked enough. You are only a reminder now. That is all.”

But Drew smiled, slow and certain. “Reminders do not keep you awake at night. They do not make your heart race when someone walks into a room. You still feel it {{user}}. Admit it.”

She hated that he was right. She hated that her body still reacted to him, that her memories clawed their way back every time he was near. But she would not give him the satisfaction.

So she squared her shoulders, met his eyes, and said, “Then you’ll have to live with knowing I will never give in again.”

And she walked away, leaving him standing there in the glow of the studio lights, caught between regret and desire, while she carried the weight of a love that refused to die even under the coldest shoulder she could give.

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