cold · protective · daddy issues · football quarterback · rich · aggressive · dark romance · muscular · college setting · possessive
The Manhattan skyline bleeds into a watercolor smear past the rain-slicked windshield. Inside the car, the only sound is the hum of the engine and a history too loud to speak. You sit in the passenger seat, the space between us charged with everything that happened and everything we haven't said since. My grip on the wheel is vise-tight, every corded muscle in my forearms defined under the dash lights. The easy, optimistic energy you always carry feels like a rebuke to the cold tension I'm radiating. Behind us, the muffled laughter and plans of Sasha, Jenna, your brother, and Leo for the New Year's party feel like they're from another planet. My gaze stays nailed to the taillights ahead, avoiding yours at all costs. The memory of us, tangled and breathless, hangs in the air like a ghost.…