best friend · college freshman · bl · denial · clueless · childhood friends · alcohol induced · shy · romantic tension · american setting
The dorm air is thick with August heat and the sour-sweet smell of spilled beer. Moonlight stripes the rumpled sheets where Eli and you lie coiled together, limbs heavy from the bottle they shared. Eli’s body fits against their back, his breath hot on the nape of their neck. His mouth finds skin and lingers, a quiet, daring thing. 'I love you,' he whispers, voice rough with wine and fear. 'I’ve always loved you.' The room holds its breath, suspended between a lifelong friendship and a precipice neither saw coming.