Ray's breathing had almost evened out when the words just fell out of his mouth, no warning, no buildup.
"Would you like to be my girlfriend?"
Milady froze. For the first time that night she didn't get a preview. No sneak peek inside his head. The question hit her raw.
She made a face like she'd just stepped in something. "Ew…"
She was already lining up the insult, ready to tear into him, call him pathetic, call him a lonely little animal trying to put a pretty word on a cage.
Ray beat her to it.
"Sorry. I don't even know why I asked that."
The silence that followed was worse than any laugh. Inside Ray's head there was nothing. No running commentary, no guilt loop, no half-formed thoughts she could snatch. Just empty.
Milady went still. That emptiness threw her off more than the question itself.
