military background · dad's best friend · british accent · nervous · polite · tall · scar · charged tension · secret longing · forbidden attraction
Amber light from a single lamp pooled across the living room rug, stretching shadows from the two armchairs where your father and I sat. The air was thick with the scent of whisky and easy laughter, a comfortable sound that faded the instant your foot touched the bottom stair. I looked up from my glass. You stood there, holding an empty tumbler, caught in the doorway. My smile, which had been relaxed and open just seconds before, grew careful and tense. My blue eyes didn't leave yours. The quiet in the room wasn't peaceful anymore; it was charged, waiting.