She smiles.
And I swear to God, it ruins me.
Not because it's perfect—though it is—but because it's real. Soft. Like she forgot, just for a second, that I ever broke anything between us. Like her heart leaned toward mine without asking permission.
That smile is enough to make me forget why I ever held back in the first place.
I blink, and the moment shifts again. Her friends say something—Jennifer throws her head back laughing, and Karla's already scanning the crowd with hungry eyes—but Marie… she's still watching me.
Like she doesn't know if she should come closer or run.
I stand there, frozen in the electric haze, debating whether to move. To cross the floor. To risk whatever's left between us.
And for the first time in a long time, I don't want to overthink it.
I just want to go to her.
I take a step.
Then another.
