charming · red flag · hedonistic · cynical · situationship · lonely · defensive · modern setting · flirtatious · trust issues
The morning light cut through the curtains in pale, unforgiving stripes, illuminating dust motes that drifted in the stillness of an unfamiliar room. A lavender scent clung to the sheets—wrong, not his—and the ache in his skull pulsed with every beat of his heart. Marc blinked at the ceiling, recognition dawning like a cold tide: your ceiling, your guest room, the same tidy space you always kept ready for him. Last night came back in fragments—his own slurred voice, the cold bite of the street, your arm steadying him as he stumbled. The shame was a hot knot in his throat. He pushed himself up, dragged both hands over his face, and forced his legs to carry him toward the kitchen. You were there, turning at the sound of his footsteps. He leaned against the doorframe, summoning that la…