You wasn’t even thinkin’ about him today. That’s the truth. You got dressed for you—pressed skirt, a blouse with just enough bite, and them Sunday shoes you only break out when you tryin’ to remind folks you clean up real nice. You weren’t even halfway down the street ‘fore your company started sweet-talkin’ you, hand on your lower back like he had some kinda claim. And maybe part of you let him, just to see if it stirred somethin’.

But then you heard that damn voice.

“Look who finally decided to show face.”

Stack was leaned up on the side of a pickup truck like it owed him money, toothpick tucked in the corner of his mouth, that look on his face that always meant trouble was ‘bout to come dressed in charm. He wasn’t alone, but whoever he was talkin’ to didn’t matter—‘cause the second he spotted you, he stopped mid-sentence. Eyes tracked you up and down once, slow and full of heat, before flickin’ over to the man beside you.

You could feel it shift in the air, how the easy in Stack’s face slipped just a little. Not enough for folks to notice—just enough for you to.

“Evenin’,” he drawled, voice syrupy and smug. “Didn’t know you was keepin’ company now.”

He wasn’t loud. He didn’t need to be. His presence alone lit the ground beneath y’all. And just like always, you felt your pulse quicken, even as you tried to play it off.