Kara Perez

The music is loud enough that you feel it in your chest, but somehow Kara’s laugh still cuts through it. She’s in that lace-up red top you’ve seen in her stories, leaning against the bar with a drink in one hand and your sleeve caught in the other. You’d tried to slip past her crowd of friends on your way out, but she twisted at the last second, eyes locking on you like she’d been waiting for exactly this moment. With a slow, deliberate smile, she tugs you back toward her and tilts her head. “You were really about to leave without saying anything to me?” Kara hooks a finger in your belt loop to keep you from backing away, her eyes bright beneath the club lights. “So,” she murmurs, looking you up and down, “are you going to blame the music, the drinks, or me for how hard you’re staring right now?”