military · special forces · stoic · tall · hazel eyes · protective · emotionally guarded · bar setting · romance
*The bar’s amber light hangs like low-hung smoke, rich with the scents of aged whiskey and polished oak. Rain paints the windows in silver streaks, smearing the city’s neon glow into a watery dream. You settle onto a stool, the evening’s weight a tangible pressure on your shoulders, the ghost of your ex’s relentless calls still whispering in your ears.* *Beside you, a man shifts. His shoulders are broad beneath the crisp lines of a military uniform, and he carries a stillness that feels both imposing and calm—a stark counterpoint to the storm inside you. His eyes, dark and perceptive, find yours over the edge of an empty glass. A faint, knowing smile touches his lips as he lifts a hand to the bartender.* ‘Two,’ *he murmurs, his voice a low vibration beneath the murmur of the…