Morning arrived too brightly.

Mia stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her clothes more times than necessary—not because anything was wrong, but because her body still hadn’t fully agreed with her mind about last night being over.

The apartment was quiet behind her.

Too quiet.

Which was suspicious.

Because Alex was never quiet for long.

She fixed the sleeve of her blouse again, exhaled slowly, and reached for her bag just as warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

There he was.

Late.

Sleep-warm.

Dangerous.

Alex rested his forehead lightly against the side of her head, still half-awake, his voice rough with sleep.

“You’re leaving without saying goodbye?”

Mia met his gaze through the mirror. “You were asleep.”

“You could’ve woken me up.”

“That sounds like a terrible decision.”

His mouth curved faintly against her shoulder.

“Most things involving you lately are terrible decisions.”

Heat climbed immediately into her cheeks.

Annoying.

Because he sounded far too pleased with himself this morning.

Mia carefully turned in his arms, trying to ignore how unfairly attractive he looked in gray sweatpants and a loose black shirt, hair still messy from sleep.

“You’re staring again,” he murmured.

“I’m evaluating consequences.”

“And?”

“You continue to be a problem.”

“That’s not new.”

No. It wasn’t.

Not after last night.

Not after the conference room.

Not after the way neither of them had really slept because every quiet moment in bed had turned into lingering touches, half-finished conversations, and kisses that kept distracting them from actually resting.

Alex leaned closer slowly, like he already knew she wasn’t going to stop him.

“You’re overthinking again,” he murmured softly.

“I have to. One of us should.”

“I think we’re doing fine.”

Mia gave him a look.

“You almost kissed me in the elevator lobby yesterday.”

“I did kiss you.”

“That is not helping your argument.”

Alex smiled properly then—warm, relaxed, entirely too confident.

“You liked it.”

She hated that he could say things like that so calmly.

Especially when he was right.

Before she could answer, he stole a quick kiss anyway.

Soft.

Unhurried.

Like he had nowhere else to be.

Mia exhaled against his mouth before stepping back reluctantly.

“We’re going to be late.”

“That sounds like future-us problem.”

“Alex.”

“Fine,” he sighed dramatically. “But I still think mornings should legally require kissing.”

She grabbed her keys before he could pull her back again.

Unfortunately, his hand caught hers at the last second.

“Hey.”

“What?”

His expression softened slightly.

“Don’t avoid me today.”

That caught her off guard.

Because beneath the teasing, there was honesty there.

Real enough to quiet her immediately.

Mia squeezed his fingers once.

“I’m not avoiding you,” she said softly.

His eyes held hers for a second longer.

Then he smiled faintly and let go.

“Good.”

The office felt normal for exactly six minutes.

Then Alex ruined it.

Mia had barely settled at her desk when he appeared beside her carrying coffee.

Not unusual.

The problem was the way he set it down.

Carefully.

Like it mattered.

“Vanilla,” he said casually. “You looked tired this morning.”

Mia looked up sharply.

Three nearby coworkers looked up too.

Alex remained completely calm.

One coworker blinked slowly.

“…You memorize her coffee order?”

Alex glanced at him. “I live to serve.”

Mia nearly kicked him under the desk.

Instead, she forced a professional smile.

“Thank you,” she said through clenched teeth.

Alex noticed immediately.

And looked delighted by it.

That was the beginning of the problem.

Because after last night, something in him had changed.

Or maybe stopped hiding.

He touched her casually now.

A hand briefly against her lower back while passing behind her chair.

Fingers brushing hers when handing over documents.

Leaning too close during meetings.

Not enough for HR.

Enough for Mia’s pulse.

At one point during a morning discussion, she looked up from her laptop and found Alex already watching her with that same unreadable expression from the conference room.

Warm.

Focused.

Dangerous.

Mia narrowed her eyes immediately.

Behave.

His mouth twitched like he heard the thought anyway.

Absolute menace.

By lunch, it had escalated.

Mia stood near the copy machine organizing reports when Alex appeared beside her silently.

“You’re glaring at paper now,” he noted.

“I’m glaring at you indirectly.”

“That’s romantic.”

She handed him a file sharply. “Please act normal.”

“I am acting normal.”

“You touched my waist during a staffing meeting.”

“You looked stressed.”

“I was stressed because you touched my waist during a staffing meeting.”

Alex considered that briefly.

“Fair.”

Mia sighed.

“You’re making this obvious.”

His expression shifted slightly then.

Not teasing now.

Something softer.

“Maybe I’m tired of pretending.”

That landed harder than she expected.

Before she could respond, footsteps echoed down the hallway.

A coworker rounded the corner.

And immediately slowed down.

Because Alex was still standing too close.

Because Mia still looked flustered.

Because neither of them stepped away fast enough.

The coworker stared between them carefully.

“…Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Mia answered too quickly.

“Yes,” Alex answered calmly.

She turned toward him in horror.

The coworker’s eyebrows lifted.

Alex looked entirely unbothered.

“We’re discussing workplace efficiency,” he added smoothly.

“That sounds fake,” the coworker replied instantly.

“It is fake,” Mia muttered.

The coworker narrowed his eyes slightly before walking away.

Not convinced.

At all.

Mia looked back at Alex.

“You cannot say things like that.”

“You looked cute when you panicked.”

“That’s not the point.”

Alex leaned slightly closer.

“I know.”

The way he said it made her stomach flip.

Because now it sounded intentional.

Like he wanted people to notice.

Not recklessly.

Just enough to stop hiding.

And somehow that terrified her less than it should have.

The rest of the afternoon passed beneath a layer of constant awareness.

Every shared glance lasted too long.

Every accidental touch felt deliberate.

And the worst part?

People were beginning to notice.

Not fully.

Not openly.

But enough.

Mia heard whispers near the break room.

Caught unfinished conversations when she entered meetings.

Saw knowing looks exchanged whenever Alex sat beside her instead of across the room.

The rumors had started.

Quietly.

Soft enough to deny.

Still dangerous.

Especially because Alex didn’t seem interested in denying anything anymore.

Near the end of the day, the office began emptying slowly while rain tapped against the windows again.

Mia finished answering emails with tired eyes, rubbing lightly at her temple.

A headache was beginning to form.

When she finally stood, Alex was already there waiting beside her desk.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

She nodded.

The drive home was quieter than usual.

Comfortable.

Rain blurred the city lights outside while soft music played low through the speakers.

At one red light, Alex reached over and intertwined their fingers without looking away from the road.

Simple.

Automatic.

Mia stared at their hands for a second before smiling faintly to herself.

No hiding anymore.

At least not with each other.

By the time they reached the apartment, the weather had gotten worse.

Cold wind.

Heavy rain.

Alex sneezed twice while unlocking the door.

Mia immediately looked over.

“You’re getting sick.”

“I’m surviving.”

“You sound terrible.”

“I sound attractive.”

“You sound infected.”

He laughed weakly before dropping onto the couch dramatically.

“Tell my story.”

Mia rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

“Your story is literally just poor decisions.”

“True.”

She changed into comfortable clothes and moved into the kitchen while he rested quietly behind her.

For once, the apartment stayed calm.

No teasing.

No chaos.

Just soft music playing while Mia cooked dinner beneath warm kitchen light.

A few minutes later, she felt arms slide slowly around her waist.

Gentle this time.

Tired.

Alex rested his chin against her shoulder silently, holding her close while she stirred the pasta.

“You should be resting,” she murmured softly.

“I am resting.”

“You’re standing.”

“I’m emotionally resting.”

Mia laughed quietly despite herself.

He stayed there without speaking after that.

Just holding her.

Warm hands beneath the fabric of her sweater.

Slow breathing against her neck.

Comfort instead of tension.

And somehow that felt even more intimate.

They ate dinner together on the couch beneath a blanket while rain battered the windows outside.

Halfway through, Mia pushed cold tablets toward him firmly.

“Take them.”

“I don’t need supervision.”

“You absolutely do.”

He took them obediently while giving her a deeply offended look.

“You’re enjoying this authority.”

“A little.”

“Cruel.”

After dinner, they cleaned up together quietly before finally collapsing into bed.

The room stayed dim except for distant city lights glowing through the curtains.

Alex pulled her gently against his chest beneath the blanket, still warm despite the cold settling into him.

Mia brushed her fingers lightly through his hair.

“You better not get me sick,” she murmured.

“No promises.”

She sighed dramatically.

Then he tilted her chin upward slightly and kissed her.

Slow.

Sleepy.

Soft in a way that made her chest ache unexpectedly.

When they finally settled again, his arms stayed wrapped around her beneath the blanket while rain hummed softly outside.

Tomorrow, the office rumors would get louder.

Tomorrow, people would start asking questions.

Tomorrow, pretending would become harder.

But tonight—

they were warm,

together,

and no longer trying very hard to hide it.