Nat raised an amused brow and took her drink back. “Yes, definitely hot.” She leaned closer and whispered so only I could hear, “You’ve got good taste.”
Jae and Andrey stumbled over, laughing and swaying, arms tangled around each other.
“We’re out!” Jae announced. “Our feet hurt, and I need fries.”
Nat’s new guy appeared beside her like magic, clearly ready to take her home.
She hesitated, glancing at me. “Are you okay if we leave?”
“I’m fine. Promise. I’m going to head out soon too.”
She leaned down and kissed my cheek. “You sure you’re good? Looks like you’re in good hands.”
“Yes, now go.”
“All right. Text me the second you get in.”
They all filed out, Jae looping his arm around Andrey and Nat’s laughter trailing behind them.
I turned to the guy beside me and offered him a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.
“You’re sweet,” I said, reaching for my drink and taking a sip. “But I’m super tired. I think it’s time for me to call it a night too.”
His expression faltered for just a second before he nodded. He was being surprisingly gracious. “Fair enough. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“You too.”
He wandered off toward the bar, already scanning for someone else.
And I was alone again.
Except…I wasn’t.
Not really.
I slid off the stool and weaved my way toward the front, the buzz in my veins starting to mellow into something quieter. At the coat check, I picked up my wrap and draped it loosely over my shoulders. It had been warm earlier—unusually so for November—but the second I stepped outside, a gust of wind slipped through the folds of my clothing and made me shiver.
Pulling my wrap tighter around me, I picked up the pace, my breath puffing white in the chill air. The streets were still humming with life, but as I made my way deeper into Hell’s Kitchen, the traffic and crowds thinned. I cut between buildings, humming a song I could barely remember the words to, my heels clicking against the pavement.
It felt good to move. To walk off some of what I’d had to drink.
But that feeling crept in again.
That hum beneath my skin. That whisper at the nape of my neck.
He was watching.
I glanced behind me. Nothing. Just dumpsters and broken glass glittering under a weak sliver of moonlight. The alley was empty.
Still, my heart and my feet picked up speed.
God, why had I chosen to do this?
I should’ve taken a cab or, at the very least, stayed on well-lit streets.
But deep down, I knew why I hadn’t. I was tempting fate.
Tempting him.
