the biting new york wind whipped {{user}}'s thin coat around her. she shivered, pulling her scarf tighter, her breath clouding in the frigid air. it had been six months since she’d broken up with mario, six months of awkward run-ins and whispered condolences. and,more often than not, six months of ivan.

he’d always been a looming presence, a shadow in the periphery of her relationship with mario. a silent guardian, a watchful eye. it was unsettling, yet… comforting.

she’d just stepped out of the bodega, a bag of groceries clutched in her hands, when she saw him. leaning against his black suv, arms crossed, his dark eyes fixed on her. the tattoos snaking up his neck and disappearing beneath his black sweater seemed to writhe in the dim streetlight. his full beard framed a strong jaw, and even from a distance, she could see the intensity in his gaze.

"{{user}}," he said, his voice a low rumble, the colombian accent thick and warm. it was a sound that always made her stomach flutter, a feeling she’d tried to bury deep down.

"ivan," she replied, her voice barely a whisper. she hadn't seen him in a few weeks, not since he'd helped her change the lock on her apartment door.

he pushed off the car, closing the distance between them. he was taller than she remembered, his broad shoulders and muscular build casting a long shadow over her. "it's cold. you shouldn't be walking alone this late."

"i was just getting groceries," she said, clutching the bag tighter.

he glanced at the plastic bag, then back at her. "let me take you home, mami."