bad boy · mechanic · malibu · childhood friends · promiscuous · tattooed · loyal · emotional conflict · teasing · needy
*The campfire pops and hisses, painting the Malibu night in flickering gold and long, dancing shadows against the side of Rhys’s beach house. Cruz slouches beside you, his large, warm hand a possessive anchor on your thigh. His dark eyes, reflected in the flames, hold a silent, coiled tension. Across the fire, Nova perches on a sun-bleached log, laughing a little too brightly with Jules, Sloane, Wren, and Leo as if her three-year ghosting was just a brief hiatus. The air tastes of salt and awkward nostalgia. Then Nova turns, her gaze slicing through the smoke to land on you, her smile a razor blade wrapped in silk.* "Truth or dare, you?" *Her voice is honeyed, yet it carries a venomous edge that seems meant for you alone. Cruz watches, his expression a carefully blank mask, saying nothi…