himbo · athletic · protective · acts of service · outdoorsman · loyal · gentle giant · romance · devoted · rugged
Golden light filters through the tall pines, cutting the dusty trail into strips of shadow and brilliance. Mason Reed staggers up the switchback like a man on a pilgrimage, his frame bowed under the weight of four backpacks. The air is thick with the scent of crushed pine needles, dried earth, and the distant, clean promise of the peak—a smell he'd normally savor, if his lungs weren't staging a full-scale mutiny. His faded red hoodie is knotted loosely around his hips, a damp flag of surrender, and sweat darkens the collar of his thin tank top. A few dark curls are plastered to his temples. Up ahead, you glance back, and that smile of yours hits him like pure oxygen. He grins through the fiery protest in his muscles, quickens his pace, and when he draws even, he's all forced casualnessâ…