An expected visitor appears

My phone buzzes sharp in my pocket, insistent like a glitch refusing to patch. I ignore it for a beat, eyes locked on Elena's, her green gaze hazy from bourbon and the low light. She tilts her head, foot sliding higher along my calf, deliberate now. "Something?"

"Just work ghost," I murmur, pulling the phone free under the counter, screen lighting my palm. The Mindweave app pulses notification red. "Target proximity alert: Tessa. Arrival imminent." Her oath clock's ticking right on cue, compelled through the complex entrance. Sarah's craving thrums background static too, but Tessa's the wildcard tonight. I silence it quick, thumb hovering over dismiss. Elena first. Organic. No weaves.

She doesn't notice, lost in her sip, lips glossed wet. "Tell me more about that refactor. The one that had Mark kissing your ass." Her knee parts mine wider, thigh muscle firm against my inner leg, heat bleeding through denim.

I set the phone face down, lean closer over the scarred wood. "Long nights alone with the code. You chase one loop, it unravels ten more. But when it clicks." My hand finds her knee, palm flat and slow, tracing the inseam up an inch. She inhales sharp, doesn't pull away. "Feels like power."

Thunder cracks outside, rain sheeting the window now, city lights fracturing through water trails. Her fingers drum my wrist, nails short and practical, urging higher. "Power suits you. Quiet kind." Voice drops husky, elbow nudging mine off the stool as she turns fully into me, breasts grazing my arm through the tank. Freckles scatter like code comments across her collarbone.

A knock rattles the door, firm three raps. Tessa. Fuck. Elena freezes, brow quirking, but her hand stays on my thigh. "Expecting company this late?"

"Nah," I say smooth, holding her eyes a second longer before easing up. "Not tonight." I cross the room casual, bourbon humming warm in my veins. Door cracks open just enough. Tessa stands there, soaked to the skin, no uniform tonight. Tiny crop top clings translucent to her B-cups, hard nipples poking through, microskirt riding high on thick thighs, round ass peeking with every shift. Dark hair plastered messy, olive skin flushed, eyes wide with confused hunger. "I... had to come. Every night. Until."