How was Em’s practice?
Dante
Deflecting? Fine.
Entering her into a competition. She’s getting there.
Little Fighter
Well, you do know exactly how to bring out the best in your students.
Dante
We’re still on for our Sunday outing, right?
Little Fighter
I guess you’ll have to wait and see.
My fingers hover over the keys, muscles tight with restraint as need courses through me. The wordsI miss youappear on the screen before I violently delete them, curses falling from my clenched jaw.
Every cell in me rebels against this careful distance we maintain. She’ll never give in. She’s too polished.
My hands flex as I remember the silk of her hair, her voice from Saturday still echoing,Please, Dante. Kiss me.
Her scent of cedar and magnolia lingers, weaving through my dreams, leaving me tangled in my bedsheets, aching.
I should find someone else, someone temporary, but every option feels hollow. It’s been weeks since I’ve touched anyone else, since I’ve wanted to. The memory of past dalliances feels like watching a stranger’s life through dirty glass. My body craves only her.
All I see is golden hair catching sunlight, that devastating pink-lipped smile, the way her sweat clings to me after we train, driving me mad.
The way she makes denial feel like the sweetest torture. The tension coils tighter as I reread our messages, each word a perfect little wound. And God help me, I’m addicted to the way it hurts.What the fuck has she done to me?
My hands itch for a cigarette, but that vice is done. I turn to the next best thing and open the group chat with my Princeton crowd, desperate for distraction.
Dante
What’s happening later?
Tiago
Getty mansion’s going off. The usual suspects. Pure MDMA.
My form’s already gone to shit from all this time off, the last thing I need is chemical assistance derailing me further.
Mei
Legion of Honor Auction. Ancient Greek artifacts up for bid. Last year some tech bro dropped 8 figures on a private island just to fuck with his ex’s head. Fun drama.
Tiago
Your call.
Dante
Let’s play aristocrats tonight.
A classic scene: rich people pretending to care about dead civilizations while eyeing each other’s collarbones. Perfect place to fuck the memory of her right out of my system.
