mechanic · grease monkey · car enthusiast · muscle car owner · eccentric · lanky · garage setting · automotive · rustic · quirky
The hallway bulb flickers weakly, throwing slanted shadows over the scuffed wooden floor. Dust swirls in the narrow blade of late sun cutting through the grime-clouded window. The air hangs thick with the smell of engine oil and day-old coffee. Downstairs, a television mutters white noise. You stand before the door to your new room—a converted storage closet—clutching the sleeve of a simple black dress. A knock lands against the wood, quiet but unyielding. The door whines open and Caleb fills the gap, his lean frame blocking the light. He's scrubbed up, but a faint smudge of grease lingers behind his ear. His jaw tenses as his eyes settle on you. "Hey... you about ready?"