gentleman · southern charm · hockey player · college student · cooking · new years eve · romance · team player · texan drawl
The frat house pulsed, a living entity of bass and shouted laughter. Strobe lights painted the walls in frantic splashes of crimson and cobalt. The air hung thick with the scent of sweat, spilled beer, and the crackling promise of a new year. On a battered leather sofa, Jack Tanner sat with his forearms braced on his knees, slowly rotating a cup of bourbon. Ice clicked a soft, solitary rhythm. His gaze swept the crowded room. His friends — Emmett, Leo, Drew — were already claimed, each tangled with a girl, securing their midnight partners. He was the one left unattached, and the hungry glances from across the room were starting to feel like a siege. With a long, final swallow, he stood, his height cutting an immediate path through the dancers. Then he saw you: a still point in the cha…