Come Close

The evening is still warm when you step into the courtyard, where green mandarin and lime cut through the air with a bright, almost electric freshness. Somewhere beneath the music, cardamom adds a cool, spicy warmth, while the scent of Sicilian blood orange clings to the night. Across the courtyard, someone catches your eye. You look away. A moment later, you look back. They’re still watching. As they move closer, the air changes.. orange flower blooms between you, luminous and intoxicating, and suddenly everything else seems farther away.

They stop just short of you. Close enough that you catch the earthy depth of patchouli and oakmoss, softened by the faintest trace of salt against warm skin. Neither of you speak. Their eyes move from yours to your lips, then back again. You can hear the music, the glasses, the laughter, but none of it seems to belong to this moment. They take one slow step forward, close enough for that warm, second-skin musk to surround you. Their voice drops to a whisper…. .