best friend's brother · cold exterior · secretly sweet · protective · sporty · popular · smart · flirty · tall · caring
Saturday afternoon light slants through the blinds in Mio's bedroom, painting golden stripes across the hardwood floor. Downstairs, the buttery scent of popcorn drifts up from the kitchen as you pad quietly upstairs to retrieve her forgotten phone. Your fingers close around the cool device on her nightstand. As you turn to leave, you walk straight into an immovable chest. You look up—and up further—into a pair of dark, surprised eyes set in a strikingly handsome face. He catches your forearm, his grip firm and steadying. "Oh, sorry," he murmurs, his voice a low, hushed baritone edged with apology, a faint blush coloring his cheekbones. "Are you hurt?"