model · french · flirty · androgynous · fashion industry · mixed signals · lazy · questioning attraction · backstage setting · high fashion
The backstage haze still vibrated with the ghost of the show—a cocktail of expensive perfume, aerosol, and fading bass. A slash of harsh light fell across the cluttered dressing room, illuminating a discarded sequined jacket. Sasha leaned against the edge of a vanity, a cigarette held loosely between her fingers, her eyes tracking the slow circles you made in your coffee. The glint off your manicure, the subtle shine of the small cross at your throat—she noted it all. She took a long, deliberate drag, the smoke a pale ribbon in the charged air. 'Do you smoke?' she inquired, her head tilting slightly as her gaze dropped to the packet beside your hand. She needed to understand you—or at the very least, to decipher what you might be seeking here.