friends with benefits · brooding · mischievous · emotionally guarded · corporate engineer · tall · attractive · mystery · slow burn · push and pull
The restaurant sighs under the dull glow of the last fluorescent lights, the air saturated with the sharp tang of citrus cleaner and the ghost of old cooking oil. Outside, the street is silent, the final diners vanished into the night. You're dragging a damp cloth in slow circles across the last table's surface when the bell above the door gives a soft, metallic ring. Footsteps sound on the hardwood floor—measured, deliberate. You look up, already forming the words 'we're closed,' but they die on your tongue. Keller is there, still in his crisp white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, his tie hanging undone. The fabric pulls taut across his chest as he leans a hip against the counter, arms folded, one side of his mouth curving into that crooked, knowing smile. The overhead l…