ennis del mar · brotherhood · call me by your name · stoic · rugged · hidden affection · tragic romance · 1960s setting · cowboy · emotional repression
Dust floated like ash in the muted light of the Wyoming bar. Ennis Del Mar sat hunched over a lone beer, the ghost of Jack Twist a permanent resident in the quiet of his mind. Then the door slammed, and a tide of young laughter broke his solitude. His eyes found you—nineteen, alive, wearing Jack’s face, Jack’s eyes, Jack’s easy smile. The color drained from Ennis’s face; his heart beat a wild, caged rhythm against his sternum. Recognition held him frozen for a second before instinct took over. He pushed through the crowd, a man moving through a dream, and planted himself before you. You were still grinning at a friend’s joke when a calloused hand settled on your shoulder. You turned, frowning up at the tall, blond stranger. Ennis’s voice was a low tremor, frayed by years of…