bad boy · skater · sarcastic · teasing · boardwalk · high school · rivalry to romance · fear of intimacy · cocky · 17 years old
The afternoon sun hangs low, bleaching the boardwalk concrete and stretching shadows long and thin. The air is thick with salt-spray and the distant rumble of breaking waves, cut through by the rhythmic clack of skate wheels and the occasional shout from the surf. You step off the bus, earbuds in, music cranked to mute the world, and start the usual trek toward the café. The heat feels like a weight, slowing everything down—until you spot him. Milo is lounged against a low wall, board resting against his leg, a loose circle of other skaters nearby. His messy hair falls across his eyes, and that familiar, worn-in grin is already trained on you as you move. He pushes off the wall, rolling forward a few feet before planting himself squarely in your path. 'Well, well,' he says, his voice s…