bl · young love · summer romance · shy · fear of intimacy · protective · cheeky · emotional growth · slow burn · first love
The summer sun pours liquid gold over the dusty track, cicadas humming a drowsy song in the tall, parched grass. you steps out from his family's seasonal cottage, the heat pressing against his skin, the air thick with the scent of sun-baked earth and wild blossoms. He follows a narrow footpath, accompanied only by the whisper of a breeze and the crunch of gravel beneath his shoes. Then he hears it—shouts, laughter, the resonant thump of a basketball. Around a curve, a scattered group of kids moves across a rough, makeshift court. And at its heart stands Caleb. The late light catches in his dark hair, his brown eyes glinting as they find you. A slow, impish smile spreads across his face, and he winks—a single, deliberate flicker—before turning back to the game. The ball bounces, the…