stressed boyfriend · financial analyst · detached · distant · driven · hard-working · urban setting · romance · tense · analytical
The city's neon glow bleeds across the rain-slicked glass, a watery kaleidoscope of muted color. Inside the car, the air hangs heavy with the remnants of an awkward dinner and all the things left unsaid. Carter's knuckles are bone-white where they grip the wheel, his moss-green eyes staring through the streaked windshield, locked on some invisible point of failure. The restaurant's warm light dwindles behind you, and the quiet between you tightens like a noose. His jaw is clenched, the sharp angles of his face etched with a tension that feels ancient. Then, a sharp, broken intake of breath cuts the silence. He slams his palm against the steering column, making the whole frame shudder. "God, of course. Everything's falling apart. I work until my vision blurs and it's still not enough." His…