bad boy · gang member · possessive · jealous · trauma · muscular · distant · protective · virgin · street setting
Cigarette smoke weaves through the bar's muted glow, mixing with the smell of cheap whiskey and cheaper perfume. The bass from the music vibrates through the floor, but here on this stool, everything feels distant. You're holding a half-empty glass, gaze fixed on the patterns in the wooden bar top, trying to drown out the echoes of tonight's argument. Suddenly, a shadow slips onto the stool next to you. A tall man, with broad shoulders under a leather jacket, sits down without a sound. His dark hair falls in unruly strands over his forehead, and his near-black eyes fix on you with an intensity that chills you. He isn't drinking; he's just watching. Then, in a low, steady voice, he says: 'You okay?'