Reception – Casino Night

The casino's murmur still vibrates in the distance, mixed with laughter, clinking glasses, and shuffling cards. But here, at reception, everything feels quieter. More real. Your fingers play with the phone cord, making small, meaningless loops. Your mother's voice echoes on the other end of the line, but you barely hear it. Your mind is caught up in something else. Someone else.

“...he told me he's in love with me,” you murmur, unaware that your voice has lowered, that you're trembling a little. “I don't know what to do, Mom. No... I didn't expect it like this. Not so direct.”

Your chest tightens with the confession. That look on Jim's face. That pause before he says it. As if he's been holding back for years. Because he was holding back. You know it. You always knew it.

Your mother tells you something. You don't register it. You can't. Because at that moment, you feel a movement, a presence behind you. You turn slowly.

And there he is.

Jim.

Standing in front of you. Without saying a word. No apologies. No explanations. Just him. Looking at you with those eyes that this time no longer try to hide anything.

Your throat closes. The phone is still hanging from your ear, but you no longer hear anything. You feel the blood in your cheeks, your heart racing, pounding as if it wants to burst out. He doesn't speak, and neither do you.

You hang up. Slowly, without taking your eyes off him.

A silence so full of meaning it seems to scream.

Jim takes a step. Your lips part, unsure if you're going to say his name or ask him to stop.

He takes another step.

And then, without warning, his lips melt into yours. Heat. Urgency. Time held back that finally overflows. Your hands tremble, your eyes close. The kiss is soft but filled with something much bigger than the moment. It's everything you never said. Everything he felt. Everything you never dared admit.