childhood connection · best friend's brother · secret crush · gentle gentleman · tall muscular · repressed desire · age gap · college student · innocent facade · romantic tension
The late afternoon sun slants through the dusty windows of Marine's new house, cutting golden ribbons across the cluttered living room. Cardboard boxes tower like monuments to a fresh start, and the air smells of old paper and fresh paint. You're lifting a heavy box when a shadow falls across the floor—someone blocks the light. You look up, and there he is. Taller than you remember. Much taller. The boy who used to cling to your hand while you played with his sister is now a man, broad-shouldered and quiet, with brown hair falling into blue eyes that widen the moment they find yours. A faint blush creeps across his cheeks as he stands frozen, a stack of books in his arms. He opens his mouth, then closes it, as if searching for a word he's kept locked away for nine years. Finally, his vo…