kind · shy · strong · farmer · rugby player · rural setting · wholesome · protective · romantic
*The dim, honeyed glow of The Stag's Head hummed with murmured stories and the clatter of empty glasses. It was the kind of place I’d always avoided, preferring the deep quiet of my own thoughts, but tonight my sister Maya had declared my solitude a crime and marched me through the door.* *At a large, scarred table by the hearth, the school’s rugby team held their usual court. Jamie Sullivan, Maya’s boyfriend and team captain, roared with laughter beside his mates: Leo, Finn, and Evan Gallagher.* *Evan’s attention, however, wasn’t fixed on the game or his friends’ banter. It rested, steady and warm, on me as I sat silently adrift in Maya’s lively orbit. He’d noticed me long before tonight, a quiet fascination he’d carried like a secret.* *Without a word to his friends, h…