Damian
The first mistake I made that night was agreeing to come.
The second was not leaving when I still could.
Marcus had insisted it would be “good for my head,” as if my problem was fatigue rather than the increasingly intrusive presence of a woman I had no business thinking about as often as I was.
So I ended up in a private room designed for indulgence—music too loud, lighting too soft, drinks served by people who assumed I was here to enjoy myself.
I wasn’t.
The manager kept rotating hostesses in and out like inventory.
Each group arrived with practiced smiles and calculated charms the moment their eyes landed on me.
One leaned in too close while speaking.
Another laughed at something I hadn’t said.
A third asked if I came here often, as if familiarity could make any of this meaningful.
None of it registered as interesting.
Marcus eventually exhaled and leaned back in his seat, watching me with mild annoyance.
“You’re either emotionally unavailable or selectively blind,” he said.
“Neither,” I replied without looking at him.
“Then explain why every woman in this room looks like they’re performing and you look like you’re grading them.”
”They are performing,” I said calmly.
“Badly.”
That earned a short laugh from Caleb, who had joined us earlier in the evening and had been enjoying himself far more than I was.
“You’re impossible,” Caleb said, lifting his glass.
“Most men would be grateful for half this attention.”
”Most men require attention to function,” I replied.
Marcus groaned under his breath.
“There it is again.
The man who treats human interaction like a scheduling conflict.”
I didn’t respond.
There was nothing in this room worth continuing the conversation for.
Until I looked up.
It wasn’t intentional.
But the moment I did, the room stopped behaving like background noise.
Elara.
She was standing near the corner behind the other hostesses.
She wasn’t trying to be invisible, but she wasn’t trying to be seen either.
Her posture was careful in a way that didn’t belong in a room like this, as if she was occupying space only because she had been told to.
And yet she stood out more than anyone else.
My grip tightened slightly around my glass.
Marcus followed my gaze almost immediately.
“Oh,” he said casually.
“That one’s new.”
Elara shifted slightly as one of the other women spoke to her.
She nodded in response, but her expression stayed guarded.
There was a stiffness in her movements that suggested she was enduring the situation rather than participating in it.
Marcus stretched his shoulders.
“Well, since you’re clearly not interested in any of them, we might as well wrap up—”
”I’ll take her.”
Caleb spoke first, cutting through the room’s rhythm as he leaned back with easy confidence.
His eyes were already on Elara.
Marcus blinked.
“What?”
Caleb didn’t look away from her.
“She can sit with me.”
Marcus gave a low whistle.
“You’re bored.”
”I am bored,” Caleb admitted.
“And she looks like she’d rather be anywhere else, which usually means there’s something worth figuring out.”
That sentence tightened something in my chest I did not immediately recognize as irritation.
The coworker beside her leaned in, said something too low for me to hear, and then guided her forward.
Toward Caleb.
I watched her cross the room, and irritation settled deeper in my chest.
So she was staying.
I set my glass down harder than intended.
Marcus finally looked at me properly.
“Alright,” he said slowly.
“What is actually going on with you tonight?”
”Nothing,” I said in furrowed brows.
But my attention had already narrowed at the woman in skimpy clothes sitting beside my grinning friend.
Caleb greeted Elara like she was already part of his space.
“Hey,” he said easily.
“Sit here.”
Elara hesitated for barely a second before sitting at a careful distance from him instead of beside him.
Caleb studied her openly.
“You’re new here.”
”Yes,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
“What’s your name?” Caleb asked.
“Elara.”
He smiled, letting the name linger for a second.
“Elara…
That’s beautiful.
It suits you.”
Marcus leaned closer to me.
“She looks normal.
Why are you staring at her like that?”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t have one that made sense.
Caleb rested an arm on the back of the sofa and looked at her with open interest.
“Is this really your first night here?”
”Yes.”
”I figured.” His smile deepened.
“You still blush when someone looks at you.
Most people lose that after a few shifts.”
She lowered her eyes.
“I’m just here to work.”
”That’s a shame,” Caleb said lightly.
“I was hoping you were here to keep me company.”
She forced a polite smile without meeting his gaze.
“I…
I’ll do my job.”
”Oh, I don’t doubt that.” His eyes traveled over her for a brief moment before returning to her face.
“But I’d rather get to know you than order another drink.”
Marcus murmured beside me, sounding entertained.
“He’s laying it on pretty thick.”
”I’m not bothered,” I said evenly.
“You are.”
Caleb continued as though the rest of us didn’t exist.
“So, what do you do when you’re not making men forget their own names?”
”I really don’t have anything interesting to talk about.”
”I’ll decide that.” He picked up her untouched drink and held it toward her.
“Come on.
Humor me.
One drink, one conversation, and maybe you’ll even smile at me before the night’s over.”
She hesitated.
And something in me shifted again—more sharply this time.
Marcus exhaled.
“I think he likes her.”
”I’ve noticed.”
Caleb laughed softly at something she said, then shifted a little closer until there was barely any space between them.
“You know,” he said with an easy smile, “you’re even prettier up close.”
Elara gave him a polite but strained smile.
“Thank you.”
”I don’t think you’re looking at me,” Caleb teased.
“Is it because you’re shy?”
Before she could answer, he reached out and lightly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She stiffened immediately.
“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” he said.
“I promise I’m very easy to get along with.”
”I…
I’m not nervous,” she replied, subtly leaning away.
“No?” Caleb chuckled.
“Then look at me and tell me that.”
She finally lifted her eyes, only to glance away again a second later.
“There,” Caleb said with a grin.
“That wasn’t so difficult.”
He leaned in again, close enough that his shoulder nearly brushed hers.
“What if we continue this conversation somewhere quieter after we’re done here?” he asked.
“I know a place with much better company than this.”
”I appreciate the offer,” Elara said carefully, “but I’ll have to decline.”
”So quick to reject me?” Caleb laughed.
“You haven’t even given me a chance.”
As she leaned back again to widen the distance between them, I pushed myself to my feet.
And that was Elara finally noticed me.