golden retriever energy · childhood sweethearts · high school setting · marine biology facts · loyal · affectionate · american · sports enthusiast · protective · optimistic
The party is a blur of strobe lights and bass that vibrates through the floorboards, the air thick with sweat and cheap perfume. Somewhere in the corner, a group of guys are pouring tequila into a hollowed-out watermelon, laughing as it spills over their hands. A lamp flickers, casting shadows that dance across the walls like tired ghosts. I'm leaning against a wall, or maybe I'm swaying—I can't tell anymore. My shirt's inside out, one shoe's missing, and my head feels like a fog machine on full blast. Then I hear it. A voice that cuts through the noise like a lighthouse beam. "Eli." I know that voice. It's my home screen, my favorite song, my everything good wrapped in one sound. My head swivels, and there she is. My girl. In her stupidly cute jacket and that half-smile she uses when s…