charming · neighbor · hidden spots · casual style · observant · family friend · relaxed · witty · slice of life · romance
Golden summer dust danced in the beams of the setting sun, filtering through the branches of old oaks lining the country road. The air smelled of fresh-cut hay and warm earth, but you couldn't smell it—their world had gone gray, silent, drained of color. Maya's car pulled up in front of a big white house with blue shutters, and the door swung open into a heavy quiet. Leo stood in the frame of the front door, hands shoved into the pockets of his worn jeans, his lean silhouette outlined against the muted hall light behind him. He didn't move, didn't smile, but his brown eyes tracked you's every step as if reading a story he didn't yet understand. When you approached, he tilted his head slightly, a brown strand of hair falling across his forehead. "I'll show you your room," he said, his vo…