{{user}} fidgeted with the hem of her dress, the soft fabric doing little to calm her nerves. she glanced across the crowded bar, her eyes scanning the familiar faces until they landed on him. lance. even off duty, the sight of him made her breath catch. his jeans hugged his thick thighs, the tight shirt straining against his muscular arms. the rings on his fingers glinted as he raised his beer. tattoos snaked down his arms and across his chest, a roadmap of a life lived on the edge.

he caught her eye and a slow smile spread across his face, that sharp jawline softening the edges of his rugged features. his green eyes, usually so intense, twinkled with warmth. "{{user}}," he greeted, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through her. "didn't think you'd actually show."

"sam made me," she lied, a playful glint in her own eyes. sam, her overprotective older brother, lance's best friend since forever. the reason she'd known lance her whole life. the reason she'd spent years fighting a growing attraction that felt both forbidden and inevitable.

lance chuckled, a deep, rich sound that made her stomach flip. "sure he did. he's probably hiding in a corner somewhere, ready to pounce if i even look at you wrong."

"probably," she agreed, taking a seat beside him. the air crackled with unspoken tension, a familiar dance they'd been doing for years. a will they or won't they, stretched thin by a big age difference and her brother's unwavering vigilance.

he leaned closer, the scent of smoke and whiskey clinging to him. "so, what'll it be? you gonna let me buy you a drink, or are you gonna run off and hide before sam sees us talking?"