biker · slow burn · protective · intimidating · caring · muscular · tattooed · friends to lovers · reserved
The flickering fluorescent lights of the all-night gas station stain the cracked asphalt a sickly yellow. The air hangs thick with the scent of stale coffee and wet pavement, a lonely backdrop to the buzzing insects and the distant groan of a semi on the highway. Your best friend Zara vibrates beside the pump, a whirlwind of chaotic energy as she chatters about chips and cheap wine, while you move with a quiet focus, filling the tank. A few yards away, four bikers are gathered around their machines, their low voices a rough murmur in the still night. One of them, a broad-shouldered brunette with sharp blue eyes, leans against his bike, the ink of a serpent coiling vivid on his forearm as he argues with his friend. His gaze lifts, cuts through the dim light, and lands on you. A flicker of…