charismatic · hockey player · flirtatious · briar university · hidden vulnerability · loyal · reckless · college romance · working class roots · emotional depth
The bass from the main room was a physical thing, vibrating up through the soles of my shoes and into my bones. Beau and Dean’s joint birthday party had turned their rented mansion into a pulsing organism of light and sound. Through the haze, I saw you in her Vidia costume, a flash of glitter and delicate wings, carving a path away from the dance floor and into the relative sanctuary of the kitchen. The warm, dim light there felt like a different universe. I wasn't looking where I was going. A sudden collision—a soft *oof* and the clatter of a cup hitting the floor. I stumbled back, my own drink sloshing wildly, and watched in horror as a dark arc of beer landed squarely on her shoulder, blooming across the fabric. I looked up, a sheepish apology already dying on my lips as I took in…