The image of him, intoxicated by the trace of my perfume on the fabric, kept swirling and warming my mind until it melted me. His face, buried in the shawl, continued to appear as a delicious echo in the depth of my soul, driving me crazy, filling me dangerously with illusion.

Delicately, I dyed each of my nails red. Facing radical moments of change, my intimate ritual was always to tint my nails and lips in red. While warriors painted their bodies and prepared their minds before an important battle or ceremony, this was my symbolic way of preparing myself and giving myself courage. Perhaps it’s silly, or a banal way to hide behind my sensuality, but I was made of small, simple symbolisms that gave me spirit, security, and power.

Thump Thump, Thump Thump.

I thought long and hard before opening that door. Standing next to my friend Erica, I felt like my legs were made of jelly, and for a moment, I became a bundle of insecurity and nerves contained beneath a pretty dress. I truly hesitated a lot before daring to open this door. I meditated on the color of my shoes, the length of my nails and my dress, and even the type and scent of the lipstick I would use.

I finally pushed the door and took a step into the hallway before the foyer. The red lanterns were lit today, creating an atmosphere that was much more magical and mystical. This time my gaze sought him out without hesitation, but Erica nudged me to remind me that I shouldn't be so obvious and that I should recover what still remained of my composure.

“Table for two?” The waiter greeted us courteously, to which I hurried to reply, “The usual table.”

Erica and I took our seats. I tried to calm myself by chatting a bit about some nonsense with her. I thought anything might serve to distract me at this moment, but it only took a brief pause in the flow of conversation for my eyes to escape, scouring the place looking for him.

That anxiety caused me a certain arousal. Under the table, my ankles softly moved, making circles in nothingness, even though my feet weren't pinned to the floor. It was that sign that just by wishing he would appear, I was already much more than anxious awaiting him.

“Calm down, Sophie. This is just a simple, pleasant evening between two friends, okay? If you're not sure you want to try this, it's fine. No one is going to force you, honey.”

With short, affectionate little taps, my friend Erica attempted to comfort me, but just as my body was beginning to feel secure and relaxed, her eyes froze on something or someone behind me. After a few seconds of unnecessary suspense, I turned to see what she had seen, and there I found him.

I shamefully averted my timid gaze to the front, and with that, the strange sensation of having something deep in my chest… tingling, burning, left me speechless for a few moments. With his head tilted slightly downward, his mischievous bangs caressed his eyelashes before he looked at me with that seductive smile of his, as if he knew he could disarm me or ignite me in an instant with it.

“Have you ordered yet?” A simple, basic question that sounded in my head like a proposal for something more, I don’t know why. At this point, anything he could say translated into a direct spark between my legs.

I couldn't answer. I didn't know how to overcome the pound of clumsiness that had taken possession of my body. Embarrassed, I looked at him; I looked at his dark, slanted eyes, now attentive to the white paper in his hand, and my words proceeded to tangle in my mouth, trying to come out unsuccessfully, stumbling.

Erica burst out laughing. Xiao looked up at my eyes again and smiled, amused. Right there, I began to think that he had already discovered me and that, in fact, he was enjoying it.

For a few seconds, his eyes and mine remained connected. The word "magnetism" drew itself in my mind. Yes, that is what I feel, or have felt since the first time I couldn't take my eyes off his skin, but now it was almost clear to me: He couldn't stop looking at me either.

My friend Erica continued talking, ignoring what was happening between the two of us. She kept elaborating on her order until she accidentally kicked the table leg, and that connection we had achieved was severed, making us feel clumsy, bashful, timid.

He finished taking note and withdrew, leaving us alone again.

“I can't believe it, Sophie. Where did your charming conversation skills go this time?” Erica asked.

I only smiled, because although she was right, she hadn't realized what had just happened right before her eyes.

Ba-bump, ba-bump.

I could dangerously feel the force of my heartbeat throughout my body. Erica's voice sounded distant in my head. I brought my hands to my hair; I felt disheveled, like a total chaos, that everything I had cautiously built before leaving was a disaster.

«Do I look… pretty? Do I look… pretty?» I thought, attempting to see my reflection in the crystal water glass. «Is my dress too discreet or perhaps… too revealing?»

I stood up as if something had pinched me and announced, “I'm going to the restroom.”

«Where was it again?» I walked through one of the inner hallways, still hearing how the beats of my own heart hammered my ears. My mental compass and I torpidly attempted to locate the restroom I had already gone to many times. At the end of the long, adorned hallway, I stumbled upon 3 doors very tight on space.

I headed toward one of them but, as I attempted to cross the threshold, a hand with long fingers emerged from the other side, seizing my wrist and pulling me with force into the interior of a dark storage room.