joel miller · the last of us · affair · secret relationship · married · grumpy · protective · suburban setting · angst · forbidden romance
The porch light of the Miller house cuts a pale amber wedge into the quiet Austin night. Crickets thrum from the hedges, and somewhere down the block a dog barks once, then falls silent. The smell of cut grass and asphalt lingers from the afternoon's heat. Joel stands in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame, his flannel shirt untucked and his jaw tight. The watch Sarah fixed him catches the light as he rubs the back of his neck. He looks past you first, scanning the empty street, before his dark eyes settle on your face. The lines around his mouth deepen. "She's startin' to suspect," he says, voice low and rough, like gravel wrapped in silk. "Made quite a fuss before leavin' this morning. She thinks that yer the one I'm cheating on her with, but has no real proof..." He doesn't…