ing through clusters of guests holding delicate champagne flutes. The walls were lined w

ng, r

ner near the bar, aw

or pretentious flair. His confidence was effortless

strangers at art galleries?" I te

en the stranger looks like they're carrying the

f. "I don't carry the wo

. The word slipped from him like a threa

k, stalling. "Yo

ed. "Photography teaches you to

me like I was more than a passing moment. The way

broken thin

But I prefer the honest one

uilt. Honesty... messiness... I wasn

ntly. "You've mastered the art of

glass. Old memories clawed at the surface

ough the haze, softer now. "

To unravel the tightly wound version of mys

mask is safer," I rep

sure in his eyes -

go at your pace." His v

or the first time... i