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Julian leaned forward, setting his glass aside without a sound. His hand reached up — slow, unhurried — and gently cupped Anna’s face like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he had been wanting to do it for years but never allowed himself to.

Anna didn’t pull away. Didn’t even blink.

If anything — she leaned into his touch.

Just like that — no grand confessions, no perfect words — he kissed her.

And the first kiss didn’t stay polite for long. What started slow turned hungry fast — like years of unspoken things suddenly found the only language they trusted. Julian’s hands moved from her face to her waist, pulling her closer without hesitation. Anna, half-laughing against his mouth, let her fingers tangle in his hair — surprised at herself, at him, at how easy it suddenly was. Clothes became an afterthought. Jackets shrugged off. Shirts tugged loose. Skin meeting skin like it was inevitable.

"God, Anna..." Julian muttered against her neck — almost like a warning, almost like he still couldn't believe this was happening.

But she just whispered back, "Shut up, Julian," with a grin that wrecked him completely.

They stumbled their way to his bedroom — bumping into walls, laughing, kissing like they’d lost any sense of patience or history or rules.

He kissed every line of her like he was memorizing something he'd been afraid to want.

She pulled him down like she was done waiting.

Bodies tangled. Breathless and warm. That kind of closeness that felt like falling and landing at the same time.

Anna felt the weight of him, the heat of his skin against hers — all sharp edges and quiet strength gone soft in this moment. His breath was still rough in her ear, his heartbeat a fast, steady thrum beneath her palm.

Neither of them spoke right away.

His hand traced slow, absent-minded patterns along her bare back — fingertips dragging like he was still trying to convince himself she was real. And maybe she was doing the same — her leg still curled possessively over his hip, like letting go too soon might break whatever spell they’d fallen into.