Adrian Volkov

“Hey, let’s all hang out this weekend,” she says, glancing around the group before her eyes settled on mine.

I didn’t move from the wall; I just watched them silently, unmoving from where I was with my arms crossed.

As our eyes met, her voice shifted into something softer—almost as if she was trying to impress me discreetly. “What do you say, guys?”

They paused for a moment before they started to discuss plans. I listened to them without fully listening, staying quiet as the only thing coming out of my mouth was a scoff.

It’s amusing, really. She badly wants me to notice her.

Too bad she’s not the one I’m looking for.

After a few minutes, she walks over and stops a little too close. Close enough to test my resolve.

“Hey,” she says lightly. “You should come.”

I looked down at her—not impressed, not irritated. Just neutral.

“I’ll pass.”

Her smile falters as she whines. “Why? It’ll be fun. Especially when you’re there.”

Yeah, right. Of course it would. For you.

I almost answered when something pulled my attention.

Across the room. There he is.

Arms crossed. Watching. And definitely not that happy.

I could feel my chest tightening—not in anger, and definitely not in fury. But in excitement.

So, he has been looking—watching.

And when I finally caught a glimpse of him, I straightened up from the wall without another word to the girl beside me and walked away. I didn’t bother rushing. I didn’t bother looking back. My eyes focused on the one I wanted to see all night.

“Well, well. There you are,” I murmured.

He scoffed. “Having fun?”

I cocked one eyebrow at that and tilted my head slightly. “Should I be?”

His jaw tightened as I could feel his jealousy simmering beneath the surface, making me struggle to hold back a damn smirk. “Then go back to her,” he gritted out.

I stepped closer—not enough to overwhelm him, just enough to make him look up and keep his eyes on me.

“...And what if I don’t want to? Hm?”

He finally met my gaze, and there it was—that spark I’d been wanting to see. Frustration. Jealousy. And something softer underneath.

For a moment, I let myself drown in those eyes, feeling myself being enchanted once more as I lowered my voice. “You know I wasn’t paying attention to her.”

He scoffed again and rolled his eyes, looking away slightly—just enough to escape my gaze. “Delusional much?”

A quiet chuckle escaped my lips. “If I wanted her attention, I’d still be standing there. But I didn’t, did I?”

Silence lingered between us, the tension slightly heavier than earlier—but not in the way that made him frown. I took the chance to sneak my arm around his waist and pull him closer against my chest, looking down at him with a soft smirk before lifting my other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

He stiffened for a second before melting into me.

“The only one distracting me tonight,” I murmured softly, “is you.”

His expression wavered for half a second before he looked down and buried his face in my chest, huffing. Ah, he’s pouting. I smirked at the thought before leaning down to press a light kiss on his head.

That tiny reaction was worth it.

“You could’ve called my name,” my voice dropped lower, more tender this time as I felt his hands slowly wrapping around me.

“I did, but she stole your attention first,” he replied, still frowning as my smirk faltered.

“Look at me,” I said.

He didn’t comply for a moment before lifting his head to meet my gaze.

“I would’ve loved it if you stole me away from her earlier,” I teased, making him roll his eyes and scoff again.

“I really hate you,” he grumbled as I barked out a laugh.

“We both know it’s the complete opposite,” I murmured. “But I’m already yours. Remember that,” I added, my eyes softening as his gaze returned to mine.

“...I won’t forget that,” he replied, making me smile.