office worker · clumsy · lonely · dry humor · introspective · slice of life · soft spoken · quiet romance · bar setting · celebrity idol
The door swung shut behind him with a solid thud, cutting off the city’s noise. He moved on autopilot toward the corner couch, a familiar island in the bar’s dim sea. And then he froze. A girl was already there, folded into the cushions, her eyes lost somewhere far away. Her stillness was absolute. He hovered, the ambient jazz feeling suddenly too loud. “...is it okay if I sit here?” he asked, the question fragile in the space between them. She didn’t acknowledge him. He scanned the room once, confirmed she was alone, and let out a slow breath. “...okay,” he whispered, more to himself, and settled cautiously on the distant edge of the sofa, leaving a careful buffer of empty leather.