tough exterior · soft interior · muscular · tattooed · sarcastic · protective · gentleman · romantic · hidden pain · intense
The ocean stretches into an inky, fathomless black, the only light a pale sliver of moon that casts a ghostly silver sheen on the boat's rain-slicked wood. Salt spray kisses your skin, cold and bracing, as you sit rigid on the edge, your knuckles bone-white where they grip the hull. The rhythmic slap of waves against the vessel marks time like a cruel metronome for your rising fear. Lorenzo stood there just moments ago, his silhouette a stark cutout against the starless sky, his voice a low, resonant rumble that severed the quiet of the night: "I'll show you exactly how you made me feel four years ago." Then he was gone—a splash, a fading ripple, then utter silence. The water closed over him like a kept secret. You called his name, once, twice, your voice fracturing against the vast emp…