Suddenly, a woman burst into our table, drawing all eyes.

"Erik! Long time no see!"

If it hadn't been for the look of disgust that Jer and Joe exchanged, I would have sworn that the woman approaching the table was an old friend. She was very pretty, with long, perfect hair that framed a round face and sapphire blue eyes. She looked like a porcelain doll dressed in the latest fashion, molded from the same pattern as Barbies.

Erik stood up to greet her and she clung to him like an octopus in love, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"Hi, I'm Grace, nice to meet you," she said, loosening her grip on Erik but wrapping her arm around him with obvious possessiveness.

"Hi. Nice to meet you too," I replied, feeling a twinge of discomfort. Grace's attitude was too territorial, as if she was marking her "territory" with Erik.

"Grace, this is Andy," Erik intervened, trying to ease the tension. "She's my..."

"His girlfriend," Jer finished, causing my cheeks to flush as if two poppies had bloomed on them.

"Your girlfriend?" Grace asked with an innocent expression, looking me up and down. Erik shrugged.

"Something like that, we're negotiating," Erik replied with a mischievous smile, winking at me. "More or less, according to her," he grinned.

"His girlfriend," Joe reiterated.

I looked at him, bewildered by the situation. Why was this woman marking her territory? And why had Jer reaffirmed my "position" in Erik's life? A chill ran down my spine: she was his ex! This woman was his ex, no doubt about it.

"Oh, well, for not being Erik's type, you're quite pretty," Grace said with a condescending smile. Her eyes reflected disapproval of my status as her ex's 'girlfriend'.

"Erik has always liked brunettes," Jer said in the same condescending tone, looking at Joe.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Joe replied, shrugging.

It was clear that the blonde didn't like them. I looked at Erik, who seemed to be enjoying the show with a mocking smile.

"The truth is that Andy fits my prototype quite well," Erik said, addressing me. "Funny, intelligent, a bit clumsy and beautiful," he added, blushing even more.

I wasn't there to compete with anyone, let alone endure the murderous and superior look that the 'Barbie doll' was giving me from behind her fake smile.

"Wow, you look different," Grace said, changing the subject abruptly. "Why are you growing your hair long? You were so handsome with short hair," she added in a dismissive tone as she looked at my ponytail with disgust.

I had no reference for how Erik looked with short hair, but it was clear that the ponytail suited him.

"People change," Erik replied calmly. "You're the same as always. Did you come with anyone?" he asked, searching for someone with his eyes.

Grace smiled and said that she had come with a friend, but that she was leaving.

"Enjoy him, Andy," she said with a sarcastic tone. "One day they'll leave without warning and the party's over," she added, causing Jer to snort under his breath.

The blonde gave Erik a kiss on the cheek and left, swaying her hips like a supermodel. Erik sat down next to me, looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, stroking my hand with his thumb.

I replied with a sweet smile and a nod, trying to hide the little pang of insecurity that had lodged itself in my chest. Grace's stunning beauty, her confident and outgoing attitude, had taken its toll on my self-confidence.

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"I don't know how you put up with her," Jer exclaimed, letting out a sigh of exasperation.

"It was an easy relationship," Erik replied, squeezing my hand reassuringly. The word 'easy' echoed in my mind, fanning the flames of doubt. It was impossible not to feel a little inferior to such a woman. She really was the prototype of a woman who went with someone of Erik's physique, not me. However, there we were, holding hands. I wanted to focus on that and not on the obvious physical difference between Grace and me.

"She was a pain in the ass," Joe whispered to me in Spanish, leaning in and lowering his voice. "Whiny, bossy, capricious and unbearable."

"She probably still is," Erik said.

"So why do you say it was easy?" I asked Erik, switching back to English so Jer wouldn't get upset again for not understanding us.

"We didn't see each other much, and when we did, it was to... well, we didn't see each other much."

"You can say you slept with her, I'm not going to go into drama mode," I said with a smile, squeezing his hand to show him that everything was fine. "But I'm not her girlfriend, yet," I clarified to Jer and Joe, who burst into laughter.

"No?" Jer asked playfully. "Then you can be mine," he proposed in a mischievous voice. Erik threw him a french fry and put his arm around me.

"You know accidents happen sometimes, right?" Erik threatened in the same playful voice as his friend.

I laughed, trying not to choke on the sip of beer I had just taken. The tension of the moment dissipated, and I relaxed in my chair. Grace's presence had almost ruined the atmosphere, but I wasn't going to let it cloud my relationship with Erik.

"Captain! He's threatening me!" Jer said, throwing another french fry at Erik, as if they were two little boys. Joe, the first mate, gave them both a slap on the head, as if he were the older brother of the group. That only made me laugh harder.

"Can't I be Jer's girlfriend?" I asked Erik in a whisper, leaning towards him, seeking a little complicity.

"You can, but mine too. Jer's not going to take all the prize," Erik frowned, but there was a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Can I have two boyfriends then?" I said in a mocking tone.

"If you want, I don't see why not. But I warn you, Jer is a pain in the ass," Erik said, throwing a potato back at Jer.

"I'm not a pain, I just have energy. Don't listen to him," Jer rolled his eyes and went back to the conversation with Joe, while Erik and I were trapped in our own bubble.

"Don't close yourself off to either of them so soon. Tomorrow you'll have dinner with the rest of the guys, and who knows, maybe you'll like one of them more," Joe added, taking us out of our bubble for a moment. Erik made a face that made me laugh.

"I'm going to have to work hard tonight so that none of them are a temptation for you tomorrow," Erik said, running his hand down my leg. His touch was gentle, but as his hand moved up my thigh, the heat inside me increased.

The intimacy grew between us, and I felt a wave of desire that made the outside world disappear completely.

I got lost in his eyes, as if everything around us had vanished in an instant. It was just Erik and me, and that electrifying energy that vibrated between us.

"Nope, we're no match for that look," Jer laughed, jolting us back to reality with a thud.

The moment of intimacy was broken, but the desire was still lingering in Erik's eyes. His eyes, laden with promises, made it clear to me that this conversation was not going to end here. I looked around, the bustle of the bar filled the air, but it seemed as if everything was blurred, losing sharpness, while he and I were focused on a different tune.

"Shall we go?" I whispered, leaning towards him, feeling the warmth of his breath on my neck.

"I thought you'd never ask," he replied with a lopsided smile that sent shivers down my spine.

His hand slowly crept up my thigh again, stopping just before it could get too obvious to the others. The touch ignited me, but I tried to maintain my composure. Jer, seemingly oblivious to the electric current that was coursing between us, continued joking with Joe.

"We're going to take off, we've got a lot to do tomorrow," Erik said with a smile that, while intended to be innocent, was anything but.

His friends exchanged an amused glance and nodded without trying to convince him otherwise. We said our goodbyes cheerfully and Erik took my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine. Every step I took with him towards the hotel made me feel more alive, as if every cell in my body was vibrating with anticipation. We stepped out into the cool night air, where the sound of laughter and music from the bar seemed to fade far away.

As we walked away, Erik looked at me with those eyes that seemed to see right into me. It was as if he knew everything I was thinking, everything I desired, and shared those same thoughts and desires. His lips curled into a mysterious smile as he squeezed my hand tighter.

"We have a lot to talk about," he said, with a tone that suggested the conversation wasn't going to be just with words.

I felt a tingle run down my spine. The hotel wasn't far, but the walk felt endless. Each step was a mix of anticipation and nervousness, and though I tried to stay calm, I couldn't help but glance at Erik every few seconds, as if wanting to confirm that this was actually happening.

Finally, we reached the hotel and stepped into the elevator together. Erik pressed the floor button and the elevator began to move. The tension between us grew in the small space, and before the elevator reached our floor, I turned to him, feeling the uncontrollable urge to get closer. Erik smiled and leaned his face towards mine, his lips just a breath away. The elevator arrived at our floor, but we didn't move, staying there, in that bubble we had created, ready to let the fire between us ignite completely.