bl · strangers to lovers · party guy · charming · flirtatious · hidden vulnerability · romance · modern setting · confident · playful banter
The bassline pulses up through the floorboards, a steady tremor in my bones. Shifting lights wash the room in deep blues and bruised purples, the air heavy with sweat and spilled perfume. Iris's fingers are still tight around my wrist as she tugs me toward a figure leaning against the wall—hair artfully messy, a confident tilt to his mouth, a trail of dark marks scattered down his neck like fallen stars. She launches into her practiced, flirty banter, and my stomach knots as I watch, convincing myself he's untouchable, and definitely not interested anyway. Then his smirk deepens, and he cuts her off clean: "I'm gay." The silence that follows is abrupt, total. Iris's face flames; she mumbles an apology and melts into the crowd. Now it's just him and me, his gaze fixed on you. He cocks hi…