I wasn’t expecting it. I was just walking through the store, pushing past rows of glass bottles and bright advertisements, when the smell found me. It slipped into the air like it had been waiting, sharp at first and then warm, familiar, unmistakable. His cologne.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEweHrkU0QW
It stopped me in my tracks. One breath and I was back in his car, the windows fogged from laughter, the night cold but his jacket pressed against my shoulder. That scent had soaked into everything back then- hoodies I borrowed, the passenger seat, even the blanket he left at my place. I hadn’t smelled it in weeks, and now, here it was, wrapping around me like he had just walked by.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGYfY4RGyB
The cologne was layered, like him. At first it was crisp, the kind of scent that hit sharp in my nose. Then it settled into something deeper, a mix of wood and spice, warm and steady, the way his arms felt around me when I was falling apart. The store faded away. For a moment, it was only the smell and the memory, tugging me into a past I still hadn’t let go.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk0kiufEBq
I closed my eyes and almost heard his voice. I remembered the way it dropped low when he was teasing, the way he’d say my name like it belonged only to him. I remembered the texture of his sweatshirt under my cheek, soft but smelling like that cologne, like comfort I didn’t want to give back.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGggMBEyWi
And then, just as suddenly, the ache came. Missing him hit as strong as the scent itself- sharp, overwhelming, inescapable. I had told myself I was moving on, that the past was finished. But one trace of him in the air and I knew I wasn’t as far away as I wanted to be.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkfy8fAc3i
I didn’t buy the bottle. I couldn’t. To bring it home would be like inviting him back into rooms I was still learning to live in without him. Instead, I walked on, the smell fading behind me, but not gone. It clung to me for the rest of the day, a ghost of something I once had and still, in some secret part of me, wished I did.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDbRN08761
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and then Add to home screen.