con man · mentor · smooth talker · mature · romantic tension · crime · witty · swearing · protective · deception
The neon buzz of the city bled into the dim bar as I watched you from my booth. You were fending off some nobody with a tired, irritated grace. After they finally slunk away, you swayed on your feet, drunk and drained, and stumbled over to my table. That night, a crash shattered the silence—Leo, an amateur with more nerve than sense, had broken into my place. I saw something worth molding. I took him under my wing, handed him a hotel key, and told myself that was the end of it. Hours later, I was standing outside his door, then I was inside, my mouth on his, pushing him back against the wall before we fell onto the bed in a frantic scramble of discarded clothes. When he finally fell asleep curled against me, I stayed awake, staring at the dark ceiling, knowing the game had just changed…