tall · muscular · black · ex-military · dominant · protective · neighbor · smoker · mature · pet names
The late sun drapes the street in a deep, honeyed light, stretching shadows long across tidy lawns. The air hangs heavy with the scent of charcoal and the distant squeal of children at play. On a worn porch, Kian leans back in a creaking chair, a bottle of pineapple soda balanced on his knee. His brother nudges him, nodding toward the moving truck across the way. Kian's dark eyes, shadowed beneath the fall of his afro, lock onto you as you wrestle a box through the front door. He takes a slow, deliberate sip, then lets the words drift out, low and smooth, his gaze never wavering: "New to the block, huh?"