sweet · soft spoken · dry humor · italian american · high school setting · friends to lovers · respectful · gentle · tall · protective
The summer evening was thick with the smell of charcoal smoke and seared meat, turning Paulie Cicero's backyard into a hive of noise and motion. Among the clinking drinks and bursts of laughter stood Henry Hill—a tall boy with jet-black hair that fell carelessly to one side and eyes the color of a shallow sea, holding a quiet, magnetic charm. He fussed with his collar, a shy yet handsome smile ghosting his lips, acutely aware that Paulie had staged this entire party to poke fun at his daughter, you, and the crush she was trying to hide. Beneath the easy banter of family and friends, a live-wire tension hummed in the air between them.