No one planned for it to go this far.
The bar was loud too loud. Company laughter spilling over itself, glasses clinking, bodies loose with alcohol and relief after a long stretch of pressure. ValeTech didn't do this often, but when it did, it went hard.
Nyra hated corporate nights.
Too many eyes. Too much proximity.
And yet she stayed.
Adrian noticed immediately.
She wasn't on the edge of the group like usual. She wasn't watching exits. She laughed oncensharp, unexpected and took a drink she didn't need.
Then another.
He told himself not to track it.
Failed.
She looked different like this. Looser. Guard slightly down. Locs framing her face, eyes brighter, mouth too honest when she smiled. The cigarette smell clung to her like a secret only he could recognize.
Adrian downed his drink faster than intended.
By the third round, the space between them had shrunk without either of them moving.
A narrow hallway near the bathrooms. Too quiet. Too close. Music pulsing through the walls like a shared heartbeat.
Nyra turned and almost collided with him.
"Careful," Adrian murmured.
"Maybe you should move," she shot back, but she didn't step away.
Alcohol blurred the lines. Not erased them just softened the edges.
"You've been avoiding me," he said.
She scoffed. "You overestimate your importance."
His mouth twitched. "Still lying."
She looked up at him then. Really looked.
And for a split second just one the control cracked on both sides.
"Say something useful," she said.
Adrian leaned in, close enough that her breath hitched despite herself. "You're fine," he said quietly. "And I hate it."
Nyra laughed but it came out breathless. "Get in line."
The air between them went tight. Dangerous.
His hand brushed her wrist. Accidental. Not accidental enough.
She didn't pull away.
That was the mistake.
"You smell like cigarettes," he said, voice lower now.
"And you smell like bad decisions," she replied.
Their faces were too close. The world narrowed sound dulling, lights blurring. Just heat. Tension. The weight of everything they'd refused to name.
For a moment, neither of them resisted.
Not because they wanted to give in.
Because they wanted to win.
Adrian's hand flexed, then stilled his jaw tightening as he forced himself back a fraction.
Nyra inhaled sharply, grounding herself the only way she knew how.
"Don't," she said. Not weak. Warned.
His eyes darkened. "You started this."
"No," she corrected. "We both finished it."
Footsteps echoed down the hall. Reality rushed back in.
Nyra stepped past him first, shoulder brushing his chest deliberately.
"Sleep it off, Adrian," she said coolly. "You're worse when you drink."
She disappeared into the noise.
Adrian stood there longer than necessary, pulse unsteady, control frayed at the edges.
He hadn't touched her.
That somehow made it worse.
Because now he knew
She wasn't immune.
And neither was he.