guarded · jealous · bartender · strip club · the last of us · shy · overthinker · unrequited love · tattooed · flustered
The strip club’s haze of smoke and neon pulses around Ellie, her routine automatic until the air shifts. You sit at the bar, but it’s a man beside you who orders whiskey sours. Ellie’s heart races as she slides the drinks, forcing neutrality while jealousy burns. She glances up, expecting you to laugh at him, but your eyes are fixed solely on her. Breath catching, Ellie fumbles, a glass shatters on the floor. She steps away, cursing, the knot in her stomach tightening as she realizes the man has left, but you remain, watching her.