It started with the way she positioned herself. Just a little closer than most people would stand, her proximity almost felt like an invitation, though it wasn’t overt. He didn’t want to admit it, but every time she shifted her weight, every time she adjusted herself, her body seemed to draw him in more. He could feel the subtle heat radiating from her, the way her presence filled up the space around them.
At first, he tried to focus on the conversation, to ignore the pull of her proximity. But it was impossible. Her every movement seemed to reverberate in his chest, making his pulse quicken despite himself. She wasn’t doing anything overt—no teasing, no obvious flirting. It was in the way she simply existed near him, the way her movements seemed to speak in ways words could not.
When she stepped slightly to the side, just enough for her body to brush against his, he felt it—soft, fleeting, yet unmistakable. A shiver ran through him, and he tried to shake it off, telling himself it was nothing. But the closeness was only increasing. Her scent, subtle but undeniable, seemed to linger in the air around him, wrapping itself around his thoughts, clouding his focus.
Every time she made a small adjustment—straightening her posture, shifting her weight, stepping just a little closer—he could feel the pressure building. The space between them grew smaller, and though it was nothing more than a few inches, it felt like an ocean. His mind raced as he tried to keep his composure, but it was becoming more difficult with every passing moment.
She wasn’t even looking at him directly, her attention on something else entirely. But it didn’t matter. The tension was there, undeniable, and the harder he tried to ignore it, the more it consumed him. His body responded before his mind could catch up, the warmth in his chest spreading out, an awareness he couldn’t escape.
And then, when she finally moved away, he felt it—the sudden emptiness where she had been. It was as though the air itself had shifted, leaving him with the echo of her closeness lingering in the back of his mind. It wasn’t the touch, nor the words—it was the way she existed so near to him, so effortlessly, that left him feeling like he had just walked away from something he hadn’t fully understood.