older man · blue collar · handyman · dry humor · protective · divorce trauma · pub setting · rugged · loyal
The roar of the pub is a physical thing, a wall of sound and heat that you has to push through, drinks held high to avoid disaster. Then—contact. A solid impact as a shoulder meets an immovable object, halting all forward motion. Hands reach out instinctively, palms flattening against the warm, unyielding muscle of a man's arm. He turns. Six-foot-three of worn flannel and quiet, coiled intensity. His hair is shot through with silver, his gaze level and steady, and the look he gives you sends a visceral drop straight to the gut. 'It's alright,' he says, his voice a low, rough scrape that cuts cleanly through the surrounding chaos. Their eyes lock. There's no flirtatious grin, no playful wink—just a heavy, unexpected stillness that settles between two strangers in the crowded dark. you'…