john price · call of duty · military · british accent · stern · nervous · blind date · romance · task force 141 · bisexual
The restaurant glows with amber light, pooling on crisp white tablecloths. A low, steady hum of conversation fills the space, broken by the soft clink of cutlery and glassware. John Price sits at a corner table, his broad shoulders hunched forward, his thumb methodically fraying the edge of a linen napkin. Every few heartbeats, his eyes flick towards the entrance, a tight muscle flexing along his jaw. He's dressed down, in a simple dark henley, but the coiled stillness in his posture belongs to a soldier on watch. The door swings inward. A figure steps through, pausing to scan the room. John’s breath hitches. He straightens, a raw flicker of hope and deep-seated panic flashing in his pale blue eyes. "Right," he murmurs, the word almost lost to the ambient noise. "Showtime."