I don’t ask women out. Not ‘cause I can’t.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKnKid9X2X
But ‘cause I don’t like giving people that kind of power.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmJwWZRDzd
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But Brielle?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSbbITQdlw
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She had me doing shit I don’t normally do.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwq8RQuuxZ
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I’d seen her twice since that rooftop night. Both times, the vibe was there—undeniable. She’d look at me with those eyes like she knew I was dangerous but didn’t care. And I’d look at her like I already made peace with the fact that if this went bad, it’d be my fault for getting too close.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIiRND6Hep
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So I pulled up to No Chill ATL around closing time. Waited ‘til the last drunk couple stumbled out and the lights dimmed.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7pfY4Xoju
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She was wiping down tables, music low in the background, hair tied up, lip gloss shining like she was trying to distract me.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPqZnbP8DB
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I stood by the bar and waited. She didn’t even look up.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKsfeWMCm4
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“You just gon’ stand there breathing all heavy like you tryna memorize me?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiAvbI75IA
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“Something like that.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVbNtZADWi
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She glanced at me, smirked, then went back to wiping.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hi99zmNdr
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I stepped closer.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4ydm7Mgw0
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“Let me take you out.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfG5OA2zi8
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She froze for half a second—barely—but I caught it.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eFzbojAII
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“Out where?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCDjxeJzr5
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“Somewhere that don’t got dice, drinks, or dollar signs attached to it.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqL3j7YcRxt
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“So… what? Church?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPSDZ17W4H
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I laughed. She had jokes.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3koBBixOgF
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“Nah, not church. But somethin’ light. You, me, real food. Real conversation.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB25X4v27cy
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She set the rag down and leaned on the table, eyes narrowed like she was trying to figure out if I was serious.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcUuhBzj9h
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“You asking me out? Or tryna collect a debt?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡag8ukT3Vzl
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“I’m askin’.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXjQdiVTtr
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“And what if I say no?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp6TqZOHS9
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“Then I’ll ask again next week. And the one after that.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBzlEYfbgW
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She tilted her head like she was trying to hide her smile, then shrugged.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfrk1bAcGi
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“I mean… I guess if I ain’t got nothin’ better to do.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXrxm6YW9e
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I stepped in a little closer.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNM7whBSsMz
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“So that’s a yes?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKD3vyVBpE
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“It’s a ‘maybe I’ll let you spend your money on me if I get bored.’”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkw6ezaeuVa
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I just smiled.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0TSplj4Oo
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“Cool. I’ll send you the address. Saturday. Don’t be late.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCSoxD4kTc
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“I don’t do late. I just do entrances.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQyNJLikM1
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She turned around and walked away, hips swinging like she knew damn well what she was doing to me.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEMKup4c63
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And me?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlqRrO3Ezm
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I left grinning like a damn fool.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlX1TlrjZZ
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She said yes.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpBNHO7o1u
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Even if she tried to play like she didn’t mean it, I saw it in her eyes.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuXZ2TOUFn
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She was just as curious as I was.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwfxLW2uR7
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And now?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3D2ESDNKF
We were about to find out exactly what that curiosity could turn into.
The restaurant wasn’t fancy—just a little spot tucked away with flickering candles and vinyl records playing low in the background. But to me, it was perfect.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkjzOqzkq5
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She showed up looking like she owned every room she walked into, lips curved like she was daring me to mess up. I couldn’t help but smile.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHW8riuMSgX
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We ordered food, talked about everything and nothing. Music. Childhood. The kind of shit that makes the world feel small enough to hold in your hands.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5K9my7RmeI
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But there was tension beneath it all.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6l7qUj4Ch
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She kept glancing at her phone, like she was waiting on a message or trying to stay ready for a text from a past I didn’t belong in. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I didn’t.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDXUUAn64c
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Until I slipped.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkelPUjeSQ
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I was telling her about growing up in a house with seven brothers—loud, chaotic, rough around the edges. Then I said something I hadn’t meant to say out loud.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUYJq1vUTd
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“Sometimes… I feel like I gotta control everything else ‘cause the one thing I can’t control is how people see me.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8Me7yYGuJ
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She looked at me then, not like I was Kairo the tough guy, but Kairo the man hiding cracks under the surface.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg96kdnvp8z
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That silence wasn’t awkward. It was real.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsCNyX0Gus
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She reached across the table and brushed her fingers over mine.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMkwExyGW1
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“That’s a lot to carry.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQuUbJQLxg
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“Yeah… but it’s my shit.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2xMVTmW64
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After dinner, I took her back to my place—a small, clean apartment with just enough space to feel like home. That’s where she saw it.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdF45yfskpD
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The way every book on my shelf was perfectly aligned.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8eEyLlLJg
How the dishes were stacked by size and color.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQP3uGeP2d
The way I checked the locks twice before sitting down.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoMaMHTa6L
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“You’re kinda… particular.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFBDe1yZBe
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I laughed it off, but she caught the edge.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cXgmLsRFC
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“I got OCD. It’s like a voice in my head telling me things gotta be right or I can’t breathe.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvzQ8gxxrl
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She nodded like she understood that struggle more than I’d thought.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIWGu5iYLU
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Just then, my brothers showed up—three of them—each one a little different, but all loud and protective. They joked around with Brielle, throwing playful jabs but making sure she felt included.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLZOBJH6hx
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She smiled like she was already fighting her way into our world.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwzZiCISjb
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That night, between the neat lines and the rough edges, something shifted.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcN4g0KxoS8
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I wasn’t just a tough guy anymore.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9davt3TiI
And she wasn’t just the girl behind the bar.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSDOXrCbag
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We were starting to be something real.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxVHM5l3tk
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