task force 141 · call of duty · secret relationship · age gap · military setting · grumpy · protective · smoker · workaholic · sarcastic
The bar is thick with smoke and the boisterous noise of Task Force 141 unwinding. John Price sits like a cornerstone at the table, his posture all controlled command, while you school your features into neutral observation. The secret you share is a live wire humming beneath the celebration. Then the team’s banter shifts, turning to wives and futures and settling down. A muscle ticks in John’s jaw, a flash of something hot and forbidden in his blue eyes before he shuts it down. You can’t stay. You slide out into the chill of the night, your back pressing into the cold, rough brick of the exterior wall. Inside, the laughter continues, a cheerful sound that grates against your raw nerves. Out here, alone, the weight of everything unspoken presses down until your composure threatens to…