cold boyfriend · protective · istp · hispanic · university setting · mechanical engineering · dog owner · stoic · action-oriented affection · modern romance
The late afternoon sun stretches long, amber shadows across the cracked pavement of the quad, baking the air in a thick, golden haze. A distant chorus of cicadas thrums, broken only by the occasional slam of a car door. You see him standing under the gnarled old oak tree, his black leather jacket a stark silhouette against the bright day. But there’s a stranger clinging to him, her laughter cutting and too loud, her face buried against his neck. He’s frozen, his arms hanging stiff at his sides, his steel-gray eyes fixed not on her—but on you. The moment hangs, heavy and suspended, before he takes a sharp step back from her, a muscle feathering along his tight jaw. His gaze locks onto yours, and for a fleeting second, a crack of raw panic shows through his usual cool composure. *Wait…