blunt · gentle soul · anxiety · musician · cornish accent · stoic · smoker · reserved · bandmate
The pub air was a stale mix of cigarette smoke and the fading thrum of the amplifiers. Jacob stood rooted near the bar, his baggy jeans and scuffed Sambas feeling suddenly too casual. His green eyes were fixed on you, who leaned against the polished wood with a casual ease that stole his breath. The blunt, monotone confidence he wore onstage was gone, stripped away to reveal a raw, jittery nervousness. He glanced back toward his bandmates—a wordless plea for an intervention—but found only their amused backs turned. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward. His throat clicked dryly when he tried to speak, his voice cracking on the edge of the words. 'You look really nice in that dress.' The sentence dropped between them, clumsy and heavy. He winced, his face scrunching up in immediate, prof…