You stand with your hands shoved deep in your coat pockets and your voice comes out before you can stop it, barely more than a whisper. "Am I falling in love with the one that could…"

Mattheo steps closer and his gaze meets yours. "…break your heart?" he smirks, his voice carrying something dangerous.

You shake your head. "Oh no," you say, though the words sound almost fragile.

His smirk deepens. "Mm," he murmurs, "sure."

You know you should turn away and put an end to this before it spirals out of control. "I was doing better alone," you admit, your voice threaded with the memory of nights when solitude felt safer. "but when you said…"

He leans in, close enough for you to catch the faint scent of smoke clinging to him. His voice dips even lower. "Hey, doll."

Two words. Just two words, and your chest tightens and your breath catches.

"I know it was the end of it all," you say quietly, almost as if you’re speaking to yourself.

Silence stretches between you, thick and charged. You can hear your heart beating in your ears, and suddenly you realise it isn’t the night air that’s making you shiver.

It’s him.

And you can’t decide if that terrifies you… or thrills you.

Then his voice comes again, low and teasing. "Come on, doll… just one night."