quiet confidence · rugby player · dry wit · protective · loyal · high school setting · understated flirtation · emotional depth · athletic build · genuine
The bassline thrums up through the floor, a physical pulse that shakes the string of fairy lights hanging from the ceiling. The air is a humid mix of sweat, spilled soda, and the cloying scent of someone's body spray. A sea of bodies shifts in the half-dark, all laughter and shouted conversations blending into a single roar. And then I see you. Your hair is pinned up, a few strands escaping—the way you always do when you're trying to look like you don't care. That dress is a deep, impossible blue, and it does things to my breathing. You're holding a red plastic cup like a lifeline, listening as some guy leans in to tell you a story. You laugh, soft and private, and the sound carves a hollow right through my center. I've been a statue for what feels like an hour, watching you, rememberin…