"Shot! Shot! Shot!"
Sarah's voice echoed through the rooftop bar like a war cry. Nilla winced and laughed at the same time as another round of tequila hit the table.
"I really shouldn't—" she started.
"Shhh. Do not ruin the sacred girls' night with logic," Sarah said, already handing her a glass. "You've had a long week. You deserve drinks, glitter, and reckless decisions."
"Glitter?"
"Don't worry about it."
Nilla raised her glass, saluted her best friend, and downed the shot. The burn was brutal, but the buzz? Delicious.
Three drinks later, Nilla was dancing in her seat to Beyoncé, laughing so hard she nearly spilled her drink.
"You," she pointed dramatically at Sarah, "are a menace to society."
Sarah curtsied with all the grace of a drunk fairy godmother. "And *you*, my beautiful best friend, are glowing. Seriously. Six months ago, you were a sad burrito. Now look at you! You're a flaming hot tamale!"
"I love you so much it hurts."
"Same. But if you start crying, I'm calling Theo."
Nilla blinked. "Wait, *why* Theo?"
"Because your drunk ass is gonna need help getting home, and I don't trust ride shares when you're this soft and squishy."
"I am *not* soft and squishy. I'm a badass corporate fox-witch with good shoes."
Sarah nodded solemnly. "Exactly why you need Theo. He thinks you're a goddess. You deserve someone who worships your drunk stumbling."
"I do not stumble. I *twirl with purpose*."
Ten minutes later, Nilla did, in fact, stumble—with purpose—right into a potted plant near the entrance.
"Oh my God," Sarah muttered, fishing her phone out. "Okay, I'm calling your boy."
"My boy?"
"Your soft-spoken, arm-vein-having, respect-wielding boy. You gonna let him leave you on 'just coffee'? Girl, you better milk that for everything it's worth."
---
**Twenty Minutes Later**
Theo arrived in a black button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly tousled. It was honestly unfair.
"There's my Uber," Nilla whispered to Sarah.
"You mean your husband."
"I'm gonna die."
Theo walked over, concern in his eyes and a barely-there smile on his lips. "You okay?"
"I'm *great*," Nilla said, throwing her arms around him. "You smell like competence."
He chuckled, steadying her. "Let's get you home, competence addict."
Sarah handed him Nilla's purse and gave him a thumbs-up. "She's got three more shots in her than I do. You're welcome. She might cry. Or sing Lizzo."
"Thank you for the warning," Theo said with a small grin. "I got her."
---
**At Nilla's Apartment**
Theo helped her inside, kicking off his shoes at the door like he'd done it a hundred times before. He got her water, tucked her into the couch, and listened patiently as she drunkenly explained how high heels were "capitalism's way of humbling tall women."
"You need to be tucked in?" he teased gently.
She looked up at him, eyes slightly glassy but warm. "You're so good to me."
"Because I care about you."
"You really do, don't you?" she whispered, eyes trailing down to his lips.
Theo nodded. "More than you know."
And then, before he could second-guess it, she kissed him. It was soft at first, uncertain, but when his hand found her waist and pulled her closer, it deepened. Her fingers curled into his shirt, and his lips slid to her jaw, then to her neck.
She gasped, clinging to him. "Theo…"
He pulled back slightly, just enough to look into her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I want this."
"I want you too," he said, brushing his nose against hers. "But not just tonight. I want mornings and inside jokes and fights about toothpaste caps."
She blinked. "That's… oddly romantic."
He smiled. "So I'm going to tuck you in, and we're going to do this *right*—when you're not tequila-flavored."
She groaned and fell back into the cushions. "Fine. But I'm blaming Sarah when I wake up turned on and cranky."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Blame me instead."
And with that, he covered her with a blanket, took her empty water glass, and walked to the door.
"Goodnight, fox-witch," he said softly.
Nilla smiled to herself as the door clicked shut. She was definitely falling for him. And maybe—just maybe—this time she'd fall in the right direction.
The door clicked softly behind him, but the echo in Theo's chest was anything but quiet. He stood in the hallway of Nilla's apartment building for a moment, just breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Her perfume still clung faintly to his shirt, all soft citrus and something floral he couldn't name. God, she kissed him.
*She kissed me.*
Theo let out a shaky breath, leaned back against the door, and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't realized how badly he'd wanted it until it happened. And now, every cell in his body screamed to go back inside and let it keep happening.
But no. Not tonight.
Because Nilla deserved more than tequila-induced kisses and blurred judgment. She deserved choice. Clarity. Control. He wanted her to want him on a random Tuesday morning over coffee just as much as she might on a wild Friday night post-bar crawl. He headed down the stairs instead of the elevator—he needed to *move*, to walk the tension out of his spine. The night air was cool, quiet, and did nothing to settle the heat thrumming through him.
---
By the time he slid into his car, his thoughts were buzzing too loud to ignore. He braced his arms against the steering wheel, leaning forward with his forehead pressed to the leather.
"She kissed me," he murmured, a slow smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
It was the first time he'd allowed himself to really imagine *them* together. Not just as an abstract fantasy, but something real. Tangible. Mornings with her hair a mess and eyes still sleepy. Afternoons full of sarcasm and overanalyzed snack choices. Evenings spent wrapped around each other, legs tangled and breath shared. And maybe… just maybe… *forever*. But he'd waited this long, and he could wait a little longer. Nilla was still healing, still rediscovering herself. He could see it—how much more confident she'd become, how her laugh reached her eyes now, how she didn't shrink herself to fit anyone else's comfort anymore. It was magnetic, watching her bloom.
Theo wanted to earn his place in her life, not sneak into it while she was still wounded. He finally started the car and pulled into the quiet road, the city lights flickering like stars in his rearview mirror. As he drove, a thought settled comfortably into his chest:
*When she's ready… I'll be here.*
And maybe next time she kissed him, they wouldn't stop.