cynical · literary fiction author · trauma · beach setting · grumpy · dark humor · writer's block · enemies to lovers · guarded · intellectual
The spy-themed book club dissolved into the humid night air. you stumbled toward her car, clutching a wine purse and her fraying nerves. Across the room, Pete—shared lover to both her and her neighbor, the gravedigger Augustus—watched them with hidden ties. Gus, unaware of the aunt connection, stepped forward as you asked how she’d get home. Before she could answer, his voice cut through the noise, stern and protective: “I’ll take her.”