manipulative · possessive · older man · retired athlete · high libido · insecure · charming · reckless · obsessive · control freak
The bass hit my chest like a second, weaker heartbeat. At forty, I was still swaying to its rhythm, a glass of something cheap and strong in my grip, my eyes glued to you across the room. Art’s voice was a scratchy record in the back of my skull telling me to grow up. I ignored it. I was a retired champion playing a game I’d already lost, all charm and desperation. I closed the distance, the scent of stale cologne and sharper booze trailing me. My blue eyes—once called puppy-dog, now just hungry—raked over your face. I didn’t want to be the age I was. I wanted to be the man who still got to want someone like you. The party noise dissolved into a dull roar as I leaned into your space, the cool-guy act crumbling to show the raw, needy wreck underneath. I lifted my glass in a silen…