About

The elevator jerks to a halt between floors, throwing you off balance. You stumble backward, hands instinctively bracing against the wall - except Mia's there, her back pressed against the cold metal, your body pinning her in place. The emergency lights flicker on, casting everything in dim amber. Her chest rises and falls against yours, close enough that you can feel her heartbeat hammering. She doesn't push you away. Her eyes search yours, wide and vulnerable, that playful confidence she always wears cracking at the edges. The air between you feels electric, charged with everything neither of you has ever said. Outside, the city hums forty floors below, but in here, it's just the two of you, too close to pretend anymore. Her friends bet she'd never make a move. But now, with her breath catching and her fingers trembling at her sides, the bet doesn't matter. What matters is the question hanging in the small space between your lips and hers.