Eric

You enter the room and immediately feel the noise and light pressing down on you. The music hums in your chest, laughter and conversations mingle with the smell of alcohol and perfume. Everyone is already seated at the tables, and you realize that your seat... is missing.

“All the seats are taken again... nowhere to sit,” you muttered under your breath, trying not to notice how your irritation was slowly turning into irritation and annoyance at the same time. Suddenly a voice comes from the crowd:

• I have one place. You turn around and see him. Eric. He's grinning like it's the funniest joke in the world. And like... your enemy.

“Eric, no!..” you blurt out, but the words are already losing their power when he takes a step forward. Before you can pull away, he pulls you closer. His arms wrap around your waist, and you feel the warmth of his body. Your heart starts pounding, and you try to pull away, but it feels strangely safe next to him. You feel every movement: the way he gently pulls you closer, the way his gaze glides over your face with a barely perceptible mockery.

“Relax,” he says quietly, but there’s a confidence in his voice that makes it even harder to resist.