It happened so naturally he almost believed it was an accident. She leaned forward, laughter spilling from her lips, and the thin chain around her neck slipped loose, sliding down to dangle against her chest. The small pendant swayed gently, catching the light, and for a moment his eyes followed the movement before he could stop himself. She noticed—of course she did—but she didn’t reach to fix it right away.
Instead, she kept talking as though nothing had changed, her fingers brushing the edge of the table rather than the chain. The pendant rested against the soft curve of her blouse, drawing attention to the space he knew she wanted him to notice. Every second she left it there was a silent game—her way of controlling where his eyes wandered, her way of making him complicit in her tease.
Only after he’d stared long enough, only after the heat rose between them, did she finally lift her hand to her collar. But she moved slowly, deliberately, sliding the necklace back into place with a faint, knowing smile. By then, the damage was already done—because he couldn’t stop thinking about how she had chosen not to fix it right away, just so she could watch him look.