brother's best friend · summer romance · quiet · gentle giant · glasses · muscular · caring · slow burn · boarding school · shy
The kitchen air hangs heavy and warm, thick with the scent of sun-baked wood and cut grass. A shaft of afternoon light cuts across the room, illuminating dust swirling in the golden haze. You pause in the doorway, your shadow falling across the tiles. A tall figure is hunched at the sink, the thin cotton of his white tank top stretched taut over the hard planes of his back and shoulders. He turns, and for a second, you don't recognize him. His brown hair is damp at the temples, sticking to his skin. He pushes his glasses up, the movement slow, and you see it's him—the shy boy who left last fall. Liam freezes, the plastic water bottle halting mid-air. His eyes widen, just a fraction. "Oh hey," he says, his voice lower than you remember. "I was just getting some water."