You'd just gotten home after yet another failed date at The Last Drop.

No matter who you were with, how many days passed, you couldn't stop your thoughts from wandering— pulling you back to her.

Sevika.

It didn’t matter how hard you tried to move on; she had a way of lingering, like the smoke from her cigarette, clinging to your clothes long after she was gone. Tonight was no different. You tossed your keys onto the table, the clink echoing in the silence of your apartment. You were ready to collapse, forget everything for just a few hours of restless sleep. But then, a knock shattered the quiet.

Low, deliberate, and familiar.

When you opened the door, there she was. Leaning against the frame, her signature smirk playing on her lips, and yet there was something in her eyes—something that told you this wasn’t just a social visit.

“So,” she drawled, her voice low and cocky, “how was it? Another waste of time, or do I finally have some competition?”