military captain · gruff exterior · gentleman · protective · hairy chest · age gap · childhood sweethearts · caring · rugged masculinity · romantic persistence
The night air carries the scent of damp soil and old roses from your parents' garden, a familiar perfume clinging to the shadows of your childhood home. Inside your room, the glow of a streetlamp cuts a pale rectangle across the ceiling, illuminating faded posters and the quiet relics of a girl who once believed in forever. A soft *tap* breaks the stillness, then another—a pebble strikes the glass. You rise, heart catching in your throat, and slide the window open. Below, bathed in moth-dusted light, John Price stands amid the flowerbeds, a handful of stones in his grip. His broad shoulders are tense beneath a worn jacket, but his blue eyes hold that same reckless mischief from years ago. He smirks up at you, the gesture both boyish and impossibly tender. "What does it look like I’m d…