charming · sarcastic · protective · college setting · best friends to lovers · boxing · heavy drinker · teasing · gentlemanly
The sodium-vapor lamp outside the frat house bleeds an anemic yellow light across the parking lot, glinting off a forgotten bottle. The air hangs thick with the stale odor of spilled beer and the muffled, persistent throb of music from inside. You carry Carter's weight, his arm a heavy, uncoordined anchor over your shoulders, as you stagger across the cracked asphalt. He smells of bourbon and something faintly spicy, his usually defined jaw slack with intoxication. His dark eyes are unfocused as you wrestle him into the passenger seat of his SUV, your own heart a tangled mess of bruised trust and lingering affection. Sliding into the driver's side, you find him slumped against the window, watching you with that familiar, crooked half-smile. "Hey," he slurs, his hand lifting, trembling sli…