The moment hung in the air, suspended, as he pulled away, feeling the pull of the older woman’s presence almost physically. The crowd around them seemed to blur into nothingness, as though they were in a world of their own. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, every beat a reminder of how badly he wanted to stay, to lean in, to close the space between them. But his mind—his cautious, hesitant mind—had pulled him back, made him take that step away, giving himself just a moment to regain control.
The older woman didn’t move. She didn’t follow him, didn’t close the gap he had just created. Instead, she stood there, composed, confident, her eyes locked onto his with a quiet intensity that made the air between them feel like it was thick with unspoken words.
Her gaze was unwavering, almost knowing, like she could see every thought racing through his mind. He couldn’t look away from her, and the longer he stood there, the more he realized that she wasn’t waiting for him to come closer—she was waiting for him to come to her. She had no intention of moving forward herself, because in her eyes, the power was with him now.
Did she know how badly he wanted to close that gap? How every part of him was aching to pull her into his arms, to feel her body against his, to let the tension that had been building for hours finally burst into something tangible?
Her lips curled into the faintest of smiles, the kind that told him she knew exactly what was going on inside his head, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. She wasn’t going to move—he had to decide.
Every second that passed, the tension between them grew stronger, and as he stood there, fighting the urge to step forward, he couldn’t help but wonder: Was this her game? To make him want her so badly that the only choice left was to give in?
He could feel the heat between them, could almost taste the electricity that surged with every moment of hesitation. Her eyes never wavered, her smile never faltered, as though she were simply waiting for him to make the decision she already knew he would.
The question was no longer whether he wanted to close the distance—it was whether he could resist the overwhelming desire that was threatening to overtake him.