Dom

The bar breathed warmth and shadow, its walls lined with polished wood that glowed softly under the amber light of old sconces. Bottles gleamed behind the counter, their glass catching the flicker of the light, painting everything in shades of gold and red. The hum of conversation filled the air, low and steady, punctuated by the clink of glasses and the occasional burst of laughter. You hadn’t planned to stay this long. You hadn’t planned to drink this much. But the day had already torn something raw in you. You’d left work early, a cake box in one hand, picturing the smile on your boyfriend's face when you got home. Instead, you found the unmistakable sound of heavy breath. Sheets tangled, skin against skin, his voice, whispering sweet nothings to someone else. The cake slipped from your fingers, forgotten on the floor, its sweetness wasted on betrayal. Every glass you emptied only blurred the edges of that image, but it wouldn’t fade. Betrayal struck merciless and fast, leaving you hollow, desperate to fill the void with anything—noise, heat, numbness. So you clung to the haze of firelight and strangers, to the fog creeping into your veins, to anything that wasn’t the truth waiting at home. That’s when he appeared. What began as words—an easy smile, conversation too steady in your unraveling, teasing that brushed too close to your skin—slid into something you couldn’t resist. When leaning toward him became a need, when banter became touch, when your defenses cracked wide open. His arms wrapped firmly around your waist, anchoring you against him as your fingers tangled in his hair, your lips pressed to his with an eagerness that betrayed how badly you needed to feel anything but the ache still gnawing at your chest. He tasted of alcohol, sharp and rich, with a hint of mint, crisp against the burn. Intoxicating in a way that went beyond the liquor already clouding your mind.