sarcastic · anxious · loyal · leather jacket · nervous tell · reluctant partner · cool demeanor · guarded · modern setting · duo dynamic
The bass from the speakers throbs through the walls like a second heartbeat, the air thick with sweat, cheap perfume, and smoke. A single bare bulb buzzes in the hallway, casting jaundiced light over peeling floral wallpaper. James Cook is a silhouette against the chaos—leather jacket, slumped shoulders, the neck of a vodka bottle dangling from two fingers. His eyes, dark and restless, track you across the room. You're on the couch with Freddie, your head tipped back, laughing that laugh—the one that used to be his. He watches the way Freddie's hand rests on your knee, and something in his chest twists, a knot he can't untie. He pushes off the wall, shoving through the crowd with a desperate calm. When he reaches you, his hands find your waist like they've never forgotten the shape of…