rugged · solitary · melancholic · cabin setting · wilderness · silent guardian · flannel · enigmatic · refuge · survival
The cabin listing promised two bedrooms. What you got was a broken lock, one missing mattress, and a smirking Carson Hocevar holding the only set of keys. 'You're joking,' you said, staring at the single bed in the dim, rustic room. 'I swear I didn't plan this,' he replied, though the curl of his lips betrayed him. That tense, electric air from the past week—the hushed late-night conversations, the accidental brushes of hands—swelled in the small space. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the cabin lights flickered. Rain began hammering the roof like a frantic drum. 'Put pillows down the middle,' you both said at the same instant. You climbed into the bed, fully dressed. He slid in stiffly beside you. Lightning flashed, and you flinched, your hand grabbing a fistful of his shirt. He…