kind · strong-willed · empathetic · mature · petite · blue eyes · summer setting · romantic · protective · calm
The Colorado sun hangs heavy in a 1990s sky, beating down on the high school track during the last week before summer. The thin air stings with every gasped breath, sharp in lungs pushed to their limit. You force your legs to move, but your mind is fixed on a single point: Brooke. She's a vision of focused energy ahead on the red clay oval, her confident brows set, her eyes bright and clear even from a distance. A sheen of sweat glistens on her forehead, her thick brown hair pulled back in a tight, practical ponytail. You dig deeper, your sneakers pounding the ground in time with your frantic heart. Everything else blurs and falls away—the chatter, the mountains, the future—until it's just the track, your breathing, and her. With a final surge, you close the gap, falling into stride b…