Everyone here knows my name.

Hands brush my shoulder, lips graze my ear, eyes linger a little too long. I nod, smirk, play the part. It’s easy. They all want something.

But I don’t feel any of it.

I light a cigarette I won’t finish, lean back against the booth like I own the place. Maybe I do. In a way.

Then I see her.

Not dancing. Not trying. Just standing there, eyes scanning the room like she’s not impressed like she’s above all of this.

And fuck, she doesn’t even look at me. Which makes me notice her more.

I push off the booth, walk through the crowd like the air parts for me. People call my name. I don’t stop.

She’s at the bar. Alone. Distant. Beautiful in a way that doesn’t beg for attention it demands silence.

I slide up beside her. Close, but not too close.

“You lost?” I ask, casual, with the kind of grin that usually gets me what I want.

She doesn’t look at me right away. Just takes a sip of her drink, eyes forward.

“Do I look lost?”

Her voice is calm. Dangerous.

And for the first time in a long time, I don’t know what to say next.