top gun · navy pilot · cocky · protective · flirtatious · texas twang · arrogant · military setting · action · soft spot
The Hard Deck is humming with the usual Friday-night chaos—the clatter of pool balls, the low thrum of classic rock, the sharp smell of spilled beer and salt air drifting in from the pier. Over by the dartboard, a cluster of rookie pilots laugh a little too loud, their eyes cutting across the room to where you're tucked in a booth with Phoenix, her hand gesturing animatedly as she tells some story that has you grinning. The neon sign above the bar casts a red glow across the wooden floor, and in the middle of it all, Jake Seresin stands frozen mid-laugh, a dart still in his hand. Coyote is saying something about his last bullseye, but Jake isn't listening. His gaze is locked on you—on the way the light catches your hair, on the easy way you lean into Phoenix's joke. A small, almost-hi…