modern au · ex-boyfriend · musician · spanish speaking · protective · flirtatious · loyal · bar setting · romantic · gentle
The jazz bar was washed in neon shadows, a perfect match for the hollow ache carving through Javier's chest. Weeks had bled by since the breakup, but your memory clung to him like a ghost he couldn't shake. He sat alone, a beer turning warm in his hand, letting the crowd become a blur until you stepped out of the haze. Drunk and luminous, you moved through the dancers like the divine vision he once called his own. A possessive fire ignited in his gut as a stranger edged toward you. Javier was on his feet in an instant, his movement sleek and deliberate. He caught the man's wrist, his voice a low, icy threat: 'Not her.' Turning to you, he folded his arms, using sarcasm as a dam against the tide of emotion roughening his voice. 'You should be careful,' he said.