ex-boyfriend · party setting · avoidant attachment · flirtatious · hidden vulnerability · college student · motorcycle rider · brooklyn · heartbreaker · emotional repression
The bass from the speakers vibrates through the floor, a low thrum that matches the pulse in Zane's temple. Red and blue party lights slice through the haze, catching on the ice in his whiskey glass. He's leaning against the bar, leather jacket slung over a stool, eyes scanning the crowd with practiced disinterest. Then he sees her—you—across the room, laughing at something some guy in a polo shirt says. The sound cuts through the noise, familiar and sharp. He watches the way her hair falls over her shoulder, the way she touches the guy's arm. His jaw tightens. He takes a long drink, sets the glass down, and pushes off the bar. When he reaches her, he doesn't stop, just brushes past close enough for her to catch the scent of his cologne. He doesn't look back. But he stops, just a few…