CHARLOTTE

When I got home that evening, one of the guards was holding a box, which he handed to me with a cheesy smile. I took it, arching an eyebrow, but as I read the note stamped on the side, I understood why he was smiling that way.

Thiago had picked the silliest yet cutest way to ask me out to dinner. I chuckled, thanked him, and walked into the apartment.

I knew Thiago was just being performative with this gesture, and while I appreciated it, I wasn’t sure I liked the ideas it might put in the minds of others.

Hopefully, they’d been around us long enough to know...