Lie to Him, Moan for Me!

That dress should be illegal.

NATHAN POV:

The bass hit before I even stepped inside.

Emma didn't do things halfway. The whole place pulsed like it was alive—glitter, smoke, people everywhere. Bodies tangled, laughter echoing off the walls, music loud enough to shake your teeth loose.

I should've stayed in.

But something about the idea of her being here—Maya, in some tiny dress, pretending I didn't exist—had me dragging myself off the floor and into this chaos.

I slipped through the crowd, taking a drink from someone's outstretched hand without thinking. Vodka. Or something worse.

Didn't matter.

I spotted Liam across the room first—talking to Ava.

Of course he'd be here. Of course he'd look like he belonged.

And her?

Yeah. There she was.

Maya.

Hair curled like she gave a damn. Lips red. Dress—Jesus, that dress. She was all legs and soft skin and danger, and she wasn't looking at me.

Not once.

Good. 
Perfect.

She laughed at something Emma said and took a sip from her drink like she wasn't killing me with every second she kept her distance.

So I did what I do best.

I found someone else.

A brunette with a wild smile and no emotional stakes. She leaned in too close and whispered something about shots and secrets.

I smirked and nodded, eyes flicking back to Maya—just once.

Her smile slipped for a second.

Good.

I followed the girl toward the kitchen, but the ache in my chest stayed.

Even with a party full of people, all I saw was her.

---

MAYA POV:

I knew he'd come.

I *knew* it. Somewhere deep down, I felt it in the pit of my stomach the moment I walked in and saw the way the room sharpened around the edges.

Nathan was here.

And then I saw him.

Leaning against the counter, drink in hand, that same unreadable expression on his face—like he didn't give a damn, like he hadn't shattered something between us just days ago.

Except this time, he wasn't alone.

She was gorgeous, of course. And touching him like she knew him. Like she had the right.

I stared too long. My chest tightened like someone had reached inside and started twisting everything around.

"Want me to cause a scene?" Emma whispered at my side, watching me watch him.

"No," I said, swallowing hard. "I'm fine."

She arched a brow. "Liar."

I drained the rest of my drink.

Across the room, Nathan laughed at something the girl said, but he didn't smile. Not really.

I wanted to walk away. I should have. But my feet betrayed me.

---

I didn't go to him.

Didn't let my eyes linger too long. Just enough to catch flickers—his jaw clenched when I laughed at something Emma said. The way his fingers curled too tight around his cup when I talked to someone else. The subtle stiffening when Liam walked past me and rested a hand lightly on my lower back.

Nathan saw it all.

He didn't look away once.

But he didn't come over either.

We were circling each other like magnets flipped the wrong way—drawn close, repelled at the last second. And every minute of it burned under my skin.

Emma tugged me into photos, pulled me into shots, spun me in the middle of the living room while people cheered and danced around us.

But my pulse only sped up when I felt him near.

I didn't even have to turn. I *knew* when he was behind me. Felt it in the air shift. In the way my breath hitched, my body locked.

"Didn't think you'd show," I said quietly without turning around.

"Didn't think I'd want to," he muttered back.

And then he was gone again.

---

NATHAN POV:

That dress should be illegal.

The way her eyes sparkled when she wasn't looking at me. The way she kept pretending I wasn't there, but always *knew* exactly where I was.

Maya could pretend all night.

But I could read her better than anyone now.

She hadn't smiled like that with Liam. Not once. But she didn't smile at me either.

I didn't go to her. Not really.

But I passed too close. Brushed shoulders once. Let my fingers ghost her wrist as I walked by like it meant nothing. Watched her freeze for just a second.

Her perfume was still the same.

Still wrecked me.

The brunette tried to pull me back into her gravity, but I was already somewhere else—locked in a stare with Maya across the room while Liam tried too hard to make her laugh.

And her smile?

It didn't reach her eyes.

Good.

I took another drink. Waited.

Let her keep pretending.

Because the slow burn? 
That's how you start wildfires.