Her lips still tingled from the kiss, a reminder and a mistake in the same breath. Every thought she had left was running on heat and impulse. Olivia's fingers curled around Simon's arm, pulling him toward the exit. The energy between them was alive, uneven, too much. She didn't look back. The air inside the club pressed against her skin, heavy and electric, and every step pushed her closer to something she wasn't ready to name.
His hand brushed her back, firm and steady. The heat of it cut through the thin fabric of her dress. Her breath caught, shallow and quick. The music felt slower now, like the room was holding its breath too.
"Can't wait, can you?" His voice was low, teasing, but his control was thin.
She turned, eyes catching his in the flicker of light. "You have no idea."
He made a sound, half groan, half laugh, and it hit her straight in the chest. For a moment, there was nothing but the pull between them, raw and reckless. She swallowed, steadying herself. "Just a little more patience," she whispered, though she wasn't sure who she was talking to.
They were almost at the door when something caught her eye. Across the room, under the haze of violet lights, Bailey sat in the VIP lounge. Silver dress, cigarette balanced between two fingers, a smirk that knew too much. When their eyes met, Bailey touched her nose, slow and deliberate.
It had been months since Olivia had seen that signal. Months of pretending she was fine. The hit of memory was fast and mean, it burned straight through the haze of alcohol and heat.
"Wait here," she said softly, already pulling away.
Simon frowned, still holding her wrist. "What are you doing?"
"Relax. Two minutes." She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes and slipped into the crowd.
Bailey's grin widened as Olivia approached. They leaned close, the smell of smoke and perfume between them. Bailey said something, quiet enough to be swallowed by the music, and Olivia's shoulders tensed before she let out a small laugh that didn't sound like her.
From a few feet away, Simon watched. He couldn't hear, but he didn't need to. The tilt of her head, the flick of her fingers near her nose, it was enough. His chest went tight. He could almost hear Pereira's voice in his head, clean it up before it becomes a headline.
He moved before he thought, cutting through the crowd until his hand closed around her arm.
"What the hell was that?"
Olivia turned, caught off guard for a second before her face hardened. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." His voice was low, but it carried over the noise. "What did you just do?"
Bailey looked bored, lifting her glass in mock salute. Olivia's mouth twitched into something between defiance and exhaustion. "It's none of your business."
Simon let out a short laugh, sharp and humorless. "It is when you pull shit like this, you think I'm going to just stand here and…"
"Watch me what?" she cut in, voice rising. "Make my own decisions, live how I want, who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm the guy you dragged halfway to the door like you couldn't wait another second, and now you're here pretending I don't exist." His jaw locked, his voice cracking on the last word.
"Maybe I changed my mind."
His eyes darkened. "You'd rather chase that than have something real?"
Her smile was faint, bitter. "Real? Don't make me laugh."
For a second, something flickered in her eyes, not defiance, not anger, just fear. He saw it and looked away.
The air between them was too thick. He stepped closer, every line in his body tight with restraint. "You're out of your mind."
"And you're out of line," she whispered.
Neither moved. The bass hit again, slower, deeper, the crowd blurring into color and smoke. He almost reached for her, fingers twitching, but stopped himself. Her face was unreadable.
"You know what?" His voice came rough. "Forget it."
He turned and walked away. The space he left behind felt colder than the rest of the room. Olivia watched him go, her heartbeat uneven, her throat tight.
Bailey's voice came from behind, light and amused. "Still a drama queen, huh?"
Olivia didn't look back. "Shut up."
Bailey laughed, low and satisfied. "Whatever you say, babe."
Olivia's hands were shaking. She pressed them against her dress until they stopped. The heat from before was gone, replaced by a hollow ache she didn't want to name.
The crowd moved, the music rolled, but everything felt slightly out of sync. The beat still pounded, but she couldn't find her place in it. Every step, every voice, every flicker of light seemed distant, detached, like she was watching herself from the other side of a mirror.
She stayed there for a long minute, staring at the door he'd walked through. People brushed past her shoulders, laughing, shouting, living in a world that felt too loud. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't listen.
The scent of his cologne still clung to her wrist. She rubbed it hard, as if the friction could erase it, but it only made her skin red and warm.
She closed her eyes. The heat, the lights, the sound… it all pressed in. Every heartbeat sounded like his footsteps leaving.
When she finally moved, her legs were unsteady. She walked toward the bar and stopped halfway, unsure why. Her mouth was dry, her pulse unsteady. She could ask for a drink, but the thought of it made her stomach turn.
Instead, she leaned against the wall, head back, eyes closed. The air smelled of sweat and perfume and something burnt. She felt it inside her chest too, something burned out, something that had no name.
She opened her eyes again. Bailey was gone. The crowd had shifted. The music kept going, but the rhythm had lost her.
She straightened slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a hand that wouldn't stop trembling. The movement was small, meaningless, but it was the only thing that felt real.
Her body went still, the sound slipping to the edges. For the first time that night, she didn't know what to do with her hands.
She could still see him walking away.
And she couldn't shake one thought.
What if he really saw her?
The bass throbbed, slower now.
The pulse never stopped. It just changed tempo… slower, heavier, closer to collapse.