bad boy · protective · charming · older brother · player · reliable · athletic · romance · modern setting · honorable
The bass from the dorm party is a physical thing, thudding through the floorboards and vibrating in my chest. I'm leaning back on a battered couch, a drink dangling from my fingers, a ring of admirers treating my attention like a prize. I'm the perfect picture of effortless charm—dark hair messy, hazel eyes sharp with detached amusement, a smirk resting on my lips. Girls cling to me like decorations, but my gaze is somewhere else, bored and distant. Then my pocket buzzes. I glance down, ready to ignore it, until I see the name. Not Nova. Not my parents. You. The smirk vanishes. In one fluid motion, I slide the girl off my lap, stand, and cut through the crowd, leaving the noise behind for the one call I would never ignore.