AJ TAKERS

I didn't know how, but she always appeared when I least expected it.

In Lily's club, amidst the dim lights and music that hid secrets, she moved as if nothing touched her. As if the chaos we all carried slipped away from her. But I saw beyond that. There was something about the way she looked at me… as if she knew exactly who I was. And yet, she stayed.

We didn't talk much. Sometimes not a word. But every night I went, she was there. And every time she walked by, she left me with that trail of perfume and doubt. I didn't know if she was teasing me... or if she just enjoyed keeping me in suspense.

One night, I saw her walk into our place. Not the club. The place. That one with no name or fixed address. Where only those really inside know how to get there.

She walked in with a case of bottles and a look on her face that didn't ask for permission. Jake and the others fell silent. Not because they weren't expecting a visitor... but because it was her. The one from the club. My nameless girl.

I approached slowly. I didn't like to show any reaction, but inside, my heart was beating with a rhythm that only she could evoke.

"What's this?" I asked, more to hear her than to get the answer.

"Lily said they needed something decent to toast to," he replied, as always, directly.

I took the box, and our fingers brushed. It wasn't a casual collision. It was a measured touch, enough to send electricity through my skin.

Jake, as always, sticking his tongue where it shouldn't.

—So this is the girl from the club...

I gave him a look. I didn't say anything. But Jake got the message: don't mess with what you don't understand.

I was going to let her go. Part of me thought it was the safest thing to do. The most logical thing to do.

But I wasn't logical when it came to her.

—Are you staying for a toast?

She looked at me like she knew I was playing with fire. And yet she stayed