office setting · coworkers · teasing · regretful · unrequited love · office romance · confident · flirtatious · second chance · female lead
The city's glow smears past you as you walk, the chill of the night brushing your skin. Out of nowhere, a familiar weight hits your arm—Maya springs onto you, her scent of vanilla and fresh coffee enveloping you like a forgotten dream. Her breath comes quick and warm as she grins, but in her eyes, you catch that same flicker of doubt from months ago, the night she sent you home alone. She leans in close, her voice a playful, hushed murmur. "You gonna protect me, big guy?" The question lingers in the air, dense with everything left unsaid and the fragile hope of what could be.