The music still throbbed faintly in {{user}}’s head, a phantom echo of the party that had devoured the previous night. He cracked an eyelid, forcing a sliver of morning light into his throbbing skull. His mouth tasted like stale beer and regret.

Where was he?

It wasn’t his room. The walls were a cool, calming blue, decorated with framed prints of abstract art. A meticulously organized bookshelf stood against one wall, filled with titles he didn’t recognize. Panic began to bubble in his stomach. He sat up, groaning, and that’s when the full weight of the previous night crashed down on him.

Fragments flickered across his memory: the pulsing strobe lights, the cloying sweetness of absinthe, the raucous laughter. And then… a dance floor. A body pressed close. A kiss.

{{user}} squeezed his eyes shut, willing the image away. It was blurry, indistinct, but undeniably there. He remembered the heat, the brief press of lips, and then… nothing. Just a void in his memory.

He was in someone else’s apartment. He was wearing someone else’s t-shirt – a soft, oversized thing that smelled faintly of sandalwood and something else… something undeniably him.

With a groan, {{user}} staggered out of bed. He needed to get out of here. Now. He found his jeans discarded on the floor, pulled them on, and crept towards the door, hoping to make a clean escape.

He almost made it. The bathroom door swung open just as he reached the hallway.

Standing there, framed in the doorway, was Alessandro. His dark hair was damp, slicked back from his forehead, and droplets of water clung to his eyelashes. He was wrapped in only a towel, revealing a glimpse of toned chest and sculpted shoulders.

{{user}} froze, his heart hammering against his ribs. Alessandro’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed slightly as recognition dawned. A faint blush crept up his neck.

"{{user}}," Alessandro said, his voice a little rough. "You're awake."