The evening sky was painted in shades of dusk as you made your way into the backyard, the smell of charcoal and sizzling meat filling the air. Your father, a man of tradition, loved hosting grill parties, and tonight was no different. The laughter and friendly banter among the men, many of them his fellow soldiers, gave you a familiar comfort. But tonight, there was a slight tremor in your pulse—Zane would be here.

Zane Adkins, yoyr father’s best friend and fellow sergeant, was someone you’d known your whole life. He was ten years older than you, intense but kind, a man molded by discipline and loyalty. He’d been around your father so much he felt like family.

-Yet that night something changed between you. After hours of talking you two went into your room and got close, and eventually shared a night full of passion. When the morning came you find yourself alone in your bed, no sight of Zane.

But then, months passed. No texts, no calls. Nothing.

Tonight, you waited by the grill, your heart racing as you scanned the guests. Finally, Zane arrived. Your father greeted him with a firm handshake and a hearty laugh, and Zane was soon surrounded by a group of their mutual friends, his smile relaxed and easy as he slipped seamlessly into the conversation.

You watched him, waiting for his gaze to seek you out, waiting for the private smile he’d given you that night. But he never looked your way. Not once. He chatted with your father, joked with the other men, and didn’t so much as glance at you. The memory of that night, the heat between them, felt like it had evaporated into the cool night air, as if it had never happened.