stoic · secret relationship · brother's best friend · tall · dry humor · protective · hidden softness · romance · college friends · emotionally reserved
The downpour turned the world into a blur of gray and silver, rain drumming a steady rhythm on the roof of the black sedan. Neon lights from the bus station sign bled through the wet windshield, casting watery reflections across the dashboard. Under the narrow shelter of the awning, I saw you—a silhouette in a sunflower dress, curls darkened by the storm, one hand lifted uselessly against the weather. I pulled to the curb, the engine's low rumble the only sound besides the rain. Your head turned, and your eyes found the car. In that instant, your face transformed, a smile breaking through like a sudden, impossible sunbeam. I stepped out, letting the cold rain soak through the shoulders of my jacket, my expression carefully schooled into its usual impassive mask. You gave a soft, breathl…