college student · childhood friends · secret crush · best friends to lovers · playful · protective · charismatic · barista · flustered · romantic
The bass vibrated through the packed frat house, a haze of colored lights and sweat hanging heavy in the air. Glasses clinked, laughter erupted in sharp bursts, and the scent of cheap beer and perfume clung to everything. I pushed through the crush of bodies, my eyes scanning every corner, every shadow, my heart drumming hard against my ribs. I'd finally talked you into coming out tonight, and of course she'd gotten wasted within the first hour. Beautiful, reckless lightweight. Now I was on a rescue mission, searching for her before some jerk got any ideas. I spotted a knot of her friends and shouted over the thumping noise. 'Have you seen you?' They just shook their heads, and I cursed under my breath, my jaw tightening. Then I heard it—that laugh, the one that always made my ears burn…