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Ninety-three

Author: Amaka
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-29 03:51:32

By Tuesday afternoon, Lena had convinced herself that she was fine.

Fine meaning: she’d stopped replaying every glance, every brushstroke, every breath that Damien Cross had taken near her.

Except she hadn’t.

Her class’s mid-semester exhibit was buzzing with chatter and the smell of cheap wine. Sketches lined the walls, half-finished sculptures stood on pedestals, and everyone was pretending to be very serious about art while secretly wondering who’d brought the best snacks. Lena had tried to look composed, but every time someone mentioned the word model, her neck flushed like she was guilty of a crime.

Her own work a charcoal series about light and body form hung near the window. She was proud of it. Sort of. Until she sensed it.

That quiet shift in the air.

Like a change in gravity.

She didn’t have to turn around to know who had just walked in.

Damien’s presence slid through the room without announcement. She could feel him before she saw him an energy that prickled against her skin
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