No Feelings: Just Sex

ughter rose and fell in waves, and somewhere near the back, a saxophonist was playing a smooth jazz set that blended into the elegant ambiance. Jade stood near the bar, dressed in a tailored

nate-commanding, sleek, and

hat walking away was a show of strength. But that hadn't stopped her from thinking about him during idle moments, or from remembering the way his voice slid into her skin lik

smiles and probing gazes. Jade had been invited by her friend Mya, a marketing exec who was always trying to "plug her in" to better opportunities. Jade a

tion looked the most promising, when a voice-low, familiar, and

ou for the net

ralysis froze her breath before she tur

ust enough formality to blend in, but effortlessly cool in his own understated way. His eyes-those eyes-were trained on her

ither," she shot back, cocking an eye

at never reached all the way to his eyes, but so

n forward. Her posture was poised, def

mber and expensive. "These things are like fish

e, sipping her drink

e's something w

sn't going to fall into that trap again-his flirtation, his charm, the w

harming investors?" she asked, tilting her h

launch a new AI-based finance tool. Tonight's about buzz

ople for a living now," she

ust slightly into something more earnes

masked it with another sip of h

, not dismissive. "Because you're still

gs, tailored suits, red lipstick smiles. She could dive into any

ish," she said, eyes st

t-something woody and clean-coiled around her. "T

sharply. "Because it w

?" he ask

ht chatter, the distant clink of cutlery from the adjoining restaurant. But they sto

ole?" she asked, arms cross

aze softer now. "You

ke you don't belie

ere," he said, voice leve

behind her ear. "You really think char

simply. "But h

stopp

her eyes. The subtle twitch of her

ot looking for anything serious. And maybe that night at the bar was just tension and heat and nothin

ly to the part of you you've tried to keep hidden. Her mind flicked back to that night-the way hi

w me," she sai

e replied. "Bu

he wasn't playing a game, at least not right now. And

gs," she said firm

do whatever this is. We don't have to define it. No

of the world was moving around them in fast motion while th

passed.

de step

ne," she said abruptl

ff immediately. No protest. No pu

nversation about branding strategies. But she couldn't focus. She nodded at the right times, sip

es pa

is gaze. He hadn't left. He was leaning casually against the bar,

stare for a b

e looke

d already starte

he knew something

ll it fate. But enough

lways had a th