The night was nicer than I'd expected.Maybe it was the music, maybe the soft lights hanging along the walls… but, if I'm honest, I think it was because Evelyn was there. She made any place feel lighter. The conversation flowed because she talked nonstop, laughed loud, overdid every expression, and I let myself get carried along without much effort.
Daniel, on the other hand, seemed a little too attentive to me. Every few minutes, he would pull the bottle closer and top up my glass, tilt the tray of fries toward me, ask if I wanted more salt, more napkins, more anything. It was the kind of care that made me a bit uncomfortable.
And then the thing happened that seemed to be a rule in that place: the tables started getting dragged to the walls.First one, then another, then all of them.The center became an empty space, and in minutes the bar was packed with people dancing, jumping, bumping into each other.The volume of the music shot up with a snap that almost vibrated in my stomach.
— Come on! — Evelyn practically ripped my hand off the table and yanked me up, too excited to wait for any resistance.
I went laughing, stumbling a little because of her hurry.
Daniel came closer, leaning in to my ear so he could talk through the noise.
— I'll catch up with you — he said, his voice warm against my skin. — I'm going to grab another beer.
— Get one for me too — I answered, handing him my tab. — The beer's going down better tonight.
He smiled.
— You got it.
And disappeared into the crowd while Evelyn dragged me to the dance floor.
And I… let her.My body already felt light.Not dizzy, not out of control, just… loose. The beer did that to me: it took the weight off my chest without messing with my head. Very different from Evelyn's pink drink, which just made me sleepy.
The dance floor turned into a blur of people laughing, hair flying, arms in the air, colored lights cutting through the air in a rhythm I couldn't keep up with. Evelyn grabbed both my hands and started dancing, hyped, like she was on a stage.
For a second, I thought the beer had hit me harder than I'd realized.
I looked ahead and there he was.
Leaning against the wall, a few meters away from me, half in the shadows, half outlined by the flashing colored lights that pulsed with the music. He didn't have his backpack, but the way he stood still, hands in his pockets, tense shoulders… was unmistakable.
Rafael.
And he was looking straight at me.
I swallowed dry.For a second, I thought I was imagining it.I blinked, focused my gaze, but he was still there.The world around me became a smear of dancing bodies, laughter, raised glasses. Only his eyes stayed sharp, fixed, cutting across the entire bar until they landed on me.
This time, I didn't look away.
I held his gaze like it was the only thing still keeping me upright.My body moved to the rhythm of the music, but inside I was completely still.He didn't dance, didn't talk to anyone, just watched me as if he were trying to figure out what exactly I was doing there.
That's when I felt a light touch on my waist.
— Backup's here — Daniel's voice came at my ear, wrenching my focus away from Rafael.
I turned my head too fast and almost bumped into his shoulder.Daniel was laughing, holding two beer cans balanced in his hand, with two plastic cups stacked on top.
— This one's yours — he said, leaning closer, his mouth near my ear because of the volume of the music.
I took the cup, trying to steady my fingers, which suddenly seemed less obedient than they should be.Daniel opened a can and poured my beer. I took a big sip, more to have something to do with my hands than out of thirst.
When I dared to look again at the wall where Rafael had been…
He was gone.
The spot was empty…Part of me almost thanked the universe, another part felt the floor tilt just a little.
Daniel started dancing close to me.First with a decent distance, but minute by minute, the line between "close" and "too close" started shrinking.
His arm brushed mine, then his hand came back to my waist, like he was testing the limits.
I stepped back a little, trying to disguise the discomfort tightening in my chest.Daniel wasn't doing anything wrong — he was polite, gentle, careful — but the closeness… that made me restless in a way I couldn't explain.Maybe because my mind was somewhere else… with someone else.
Before he moved in again, I raised my hand and touched Evelyn's arm. She was dancing just a few inches away.
— Come here — I said loudly, trying to beat the music.
She spun around at once, excited, and I grabbed her hand, pulling her closer.Evelyn understood immediately… of course she did, she always does.She fell into step with me, laughing, spinning, wrapping us both up in the middle of that improvised dance floor.
With the two of us together, Daniel had to step back a bit. He moved aside, smiling, still dancing, but now with enough space for everything to stay light. Without that silent tension that had started to grow between us.
The hours went by faster than I'd expected.The songs changed, the lights shifted colors, people drifted apart and back together again… and I stayed there, dancing, laughing, drinking more than I should and, underneath it all, only aware of one thing:
He wasn't there.
I didn't see him again.
For a long time, I tried to convince myself I hadn't seen anything before.Maybe it was just the light, or the beer, or my mind trying to make up stories.But no matter how much I tried to buy that thought, some stubborn part of me was still waiting to find that steady gaze again, that way he had of standing off to the side like the world was just noise and he was the only thing in focus.
But nothing.
The bar emptied out little by little, and along with it, the silly hope that he'd show up again dissolved inside me.
I sighed, too tired to keep pretending I was still having fun.
— Eve… I'm done — I murmured, leaning toward her. — I'm gonna call a taxi and go home. You two can stay, really.
Before she could answer, I felt someone hold my hand gently.
Daniel.
He leaned in close to my ear:
— I'm tired too, I'll walk you out.
I swallowed, trying to keep a polite smile.
— You don't have to, really. I live close by. I'll get home in no time.
He insisted, even more gentle:
— Then I'll walk you to the front of the bar. You've had a bit to drink… and it's late. — He paused, looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable again. — And I don't like the idea of such a beautiful woman waiting alone for a taxi this late.
The compliment slid down my neck like ice.
I looked straight at Evelyn, hoping she'd pick up on some signal, but she was dancing with a blond guy, much taller than her, clearly enchanted.I'd seen him around campus before… and now she was laughing loud, completely lost in that moment.
It didn't feel fair to drag her out of there because of me.
So I took a breath, walked closer, and touched her arm.
— Eve — I smiled — I'm heading out. We'll talk tomorrow.
She hugged me quickly, still laughing, too distracted to notice my discomfort.
— Go with God, Helena! Text me when you get home!
I nodded and turned away.Daniel was already waiting by the door.
And then… we stepped outside.
The night was cold, the air smelled like wet pavement and fried food, and the music faded behind us as we walked toward the curb.
And even though I didn't want to, my eyes searched for Rafael one last time.
Daniel took a step closer. It wasn't abrupt — he didn't have that kind of energy — but there was a certain hurry in it, a kind of courage borrowed from alcohol and the late hour.
He leaned in slowly, bringing his face closer to mine, when he said:
— I wanted to… take advantage of us being alone for a minute.
I gave a short, polite smile, not sure what to do with my hands.I stepped back, trying not to make things awkward.
— Daniel… thanks for tonight, really, but all I want now is to go home.
But he moved closer again. Still gentle, still sweet… but insistent.That transparent kind of desperation from someone who knows that if he doesn't try now, he never will.
— Helena — he murmured, his hand brushing my arm. — I've liked you from the beginning, I just didn't want to rush you…
My chest went cold.I opened my mouth to say something, anything, when I felt it.
The touch…
A firm arm, decisive…a single quick, sure motion pulling me away from Daniel like I weighed nothing.
I was yanked backward with such precision that my back hit a warm, solid chest, and his scent filled the air before my mind could catch up to what was happening.
I didn't have to look… I would know him even with my eyes closed.
Rafael.
His arm wrapped fully around my waist, a hot band holding my body tight against his.Daniel's eyes went wide, stunned, almost stumbling back a step.
— What the…? — he started, his voice tripping.
Rafael kept his hand steady on me. And when he spoke, his voice came out low, deep, controlled… but there was a quiet anger behind every syllable.
— She already said she wants to go home.
My heart hammered so hard in my chest I could almost hear it.
Rafael went on:
— I'll walk her — he said, straight to the point, looking directly at Daniel.
Daniel took a step forward, his face shifting quickly.The open, gentle expression he always showed me simply vanished.
— Walk her? — he repeated, his voice harder than I'd ever heard it. — That doesn't make any sense.
He reached a hand out toward me, as if he were about to pull me away from Rafael, a quick, protective, almost aggressive gesture.
But before his fingers got anywhere near me, Rafael's arm tightened around my waist, as if Daniel had just poked at an instinct he'd been trying hard to keep caged.
Their eyes collided in the air — heavy, charged with rivalry.
I took a breath and forced myself to speak before that turned into a real fight.
— Daniel… it's okay. — I tried to smile, even with my heart pounding. — I'm fine. Rafael is my neighbor.
Daniel blinked, confused.
— Neighbor? — He looked from me to Rafael, then back to me. — Helena… are you sure?
— I am. — My voice came out steady. — I know him… I trust him.
That was when I felt it…Subtle, almost imperceptible — Rafael's chest trembled against my back.I don't know if it was surprise at what I'd just said, but he shivered.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair, clearly irritated, but trying to keep his composure.
— I just… don't think it's safe for you to go off alone, at this hour, with… — he gestured vaguely toward Rafael, unable to finish the sentence.
— You really don't have to worry, Daniel. I mean it.
He finally nodded, but the worry didn't leave his face.
— Anything… anything at all, call me — he said at last.
I nodded, and he stepped back, his eyes still fixed on me like he was trying to read me — or like he wanted to say something he didn't dare say.
Rafael didn't say a word, just adjusted his hand on my waist like he was making sure I really was staying there, with him.Then he raised his arm and signaled to a taxi that was already slowing at the corner.
The car pulled up in front of us with a soft squeal of brakes.The back door opened, and he guided me there without letting go, without giving me space to think about anything at all.
I slid into the back seat with my heart beating too fast for the little room it had in my chest.Rafael came right after, closed the door in a single sure movement and, without saying much, took off his jacket and laid it over my legs, like he was just setting something right.
As the taxi pulled away, leaving Daniel and the bar's lights behind, all I could feel was the heat of Rafael's presence beside me.
Silent, tense, inescapable.