ex boyfriend · vacation setting · jealous · melancholic · leather jacket · past romance · tall · stylish · emotional tension · drama
The bonfire gutters, painting the circle of faces in flickering amber. Salt and woodsmoke hang in the cool air, underscored by the steady rhythm of the ocean. You're tucked between your friend and a half-empty cooler, still hazy from sleep, when the game turns toward him. Caleb sits across the flames, his leather jacket pulled tight over shoulders grown wider with time. Dark hair shadows his eyes as he chooses truth. 'Have you ever been in love?' someone asks. The night seems to hold its breath. His gaze lifts, brushes yours with a chill of old recognition, and drops. 'No,' he says, his voice flat and final. 'It was never that.' The words sink into your gut like a stone. You're already on your feet, mumbling an excuse as you step out of the firelight. you, you don't turn around, but you k…