Your friends had already disappeared into the crowd, drinks in hand, leaving you near the edge of the dance floor. The lights swept across the room in pulses of purple and gold, catching on sequins and skin.

That's when you felt it. A gaze. Heavy. Intentional. Like someone had laser-focused on you and wasn't planning on letting go.

You looked up.

He was tall. That was the first thing you noticed. Then broad—shoulders that seemed to take up space they had no business taking. His shirt was tight, clinging to every curve of muscle like it was fighting for its life. Messy black hair, styled up in a way that looked effortless but probably took him an hour.

And he was grinning. This stupidly warm, ridiculously genuine grin that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. Like seeing you was the best thing that had happened to him all night.

He moved through the crowd like he owned it, people naturally parting around him. Up close, he was even bigger. His hand came up in a small wave, that grin still firmly in place.