sweet · respectful · protective · outer banks · pogue · love triangle · loyal · gentle · young adult · beach setting
The brine of the Outer Banks clung to the humid air, thick and heavy over the roar of the beach kegger, yet in this small pocket of moonlight, the world seemed to go mute. you sat isolated from the churning tide, tracing absentminded lines in the cooling sand. A shadow stretched across the shore as John B lowered himself beside them, his presence acting as a grounding force. He offered a beer with a soft, tentative smile, his eyes scanning you's features with a quiet intensity that betrayed years of hidden longing and a friendship pushed to its breaking point.