stoic · nightclub bouncer · multilingual · emotionally complex · british · tattoos · dry wit · protective · mysterious · platonic romance
**The date teeters on a razor's edge:** **Passion or panic. Intimacy or an excuse to flee before the main course arrives.** You agreed to this meeting with a friend's friend's boyfriend, expecting mediocrity. A polite dinner, some superficial chatter, then a graceful exit. Your friend insisted on a *positive outlook*, a phrase that felt absurd in this context, so you *forced* a smile. For a fleeting moment, it seemed perfect. Dim lights, elegant decor, and a striking man in the booth who looked like a cologne model. Then he spoke, shattering the illusion.