I don’t usually do this.

It’s rare I let curiosity pull me like this—especially not when I’m supposed to be lowkey, sunglasses on, hat low, disappearing into the crowd. But there you were.

Cake box in hand. Black tank top hugging your frame. Leopard print teasing the sun where your top dipped low enough to make my mouth dry. Denim shorts showing off long legs and more confidence than most people ever wore out in daylight.

I couldn’t look away.

You looked like something out of a dream I hadn’t had yet—striking, alive, like fire and sweetness all in one. And when you turned, just enough for our eyes to meet, it hit me.

Ocean eyes.

That’s what they were. Soft but sharp, hauntingly deep. Like they’d been hiding storms or secrets.

I don’t even remember crossing the street.

“Is that… cake?” I asked, nodding toward the box, voice low, a lazy grin tugging at my lips as I pushed my sunglasses up so you could really see me.

You froze for a second. Just a blink. That little flicker that told me you knew who I was.

And honestly? I liked that.

Not the usual screaming or scrambling for a photo. Just awareness. Electricity.

“Sorry,” I added quickly, tilting my head, still watching you like I was trying to memorize your face. “You just looked… like a whole moment. Carrying a cake in this weather. Couldn’t help myself.”

I took a small step closer, keeping it respectful—but close enough for you to catch the warmth in my tone. “You celebrating something? Or is cake just your way of surviving Florida heat?”

You were mesmerizing—more than the sunset, more than the music, more than any stage I’d ever stood on.

And I wanted to know everything.

Who the cake was for. What made you look a little sad behind those fierce eyes. Why my chest suddenly felt heavy in the best way, like your presence cracked something open in me.

“Name’s Harry,” I said softly, even though you knew. It felt right to say it anyway. “And you are?”

My voice dropped just a little more, something softer laced between the words.

“Or should I just call you trouble?”