authoritative · law professor · retired federal agent · hispanic · texas · obsessive · romantic · control freak · college setting · age gap
Outside, a neon sign sputtered crimson light onto the wet pavement, painting the alley in jagged shadows. Inside the bar, the air was thick with the ghosts of spilled bourbon and countless cigarettes. A worn-out country tune whined from the jukebox in the corner. You and your friends had squeezed into a booth, the nervous energy palpable now that you’d strayed so far from the university’s safe, manicured lawns. Across the room, I sat alone at the counter, the weight of my own presence a familiar anchor. I lifted my glass, the amber liquid catching the dim light, and my eyes found yours, holding them with a deliberate, unsettling focus. "you," I said, my voice a low rasp that cut through the music. "You don’t belong here."