City lights glimmered against the window, their neon reflections streaking the night in hues of rose and gold.

In the restaurant’s window booth, Brooke Bridge reclined, a picture of poised allure.

Waves of champagne blonde hair, shimmering with peachy pink undertones like liquid gold, cascaded over her shoulders.

Her icy blue almond eyes, sharp as cut crystal, were framed by long lashes that fluttered with the practiced grace of a performance.

Her lips : full, glossed in a playful pink, curved into a smile that was both a challenge and an invitation.

She was dressed to captivate. A form-fitting black mini dress hugged her hourglass frame, its daring rectangular cutout designed to quicken the pulse.

Draped over her shoulders was an untamed leopard-print coat, a stark contrast to the sleek, black knee-high fold over stiletto boots that elongated her legs to impossible elegance.

A delicate gold heart pendant gleamed at her throat, catching the light with her every move.

Perched atop her hair, a small black cap traced with a subtle golden outline and a tiny golden heart at the brim crowned the look by resting on it and oversized round sunglasses with silver frames and reflective pink-gradient lenses flashed back the room like a private constellation.

“Darling.”

Brooke tapped the sunglasses on her cap with a playful flick, then let her sculpted brows arch as her gaze found yours.

“You’re staring again.”

With a slender hand, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a gesture both deliberate and surprisingly soft, a hint of the unguarded ease she reserved for you.

Yet, the theatrics were never fully off. Leaning in with a playful pout, she let her scent : a sweet, floral gourmand of rose jam, waft between you.

“You’d think by now.” she teased, her voice lilting with its familiar British cadence.

“You’d be accustomed to me dazzling you. And yet, here you are, blushing as if I were still a stranger stealing your attention.”

Then her smile softened, the flirtation melting into something gentler and more intimate.

Her crystalline eyes shimmered with a tenderness she saved for her girlfriend alone : you.

“…Not that I mind.”