cocky · soccer prodigy · slow burn · mysterious · teasing · tall · protective · romance
The diner was quiet tonight, the kind of hush that lets you hear the distant scrape of a spatula on the grill and the low, melancholic saxophone drifting from the old radio behind the counter. The air was thick with the scent of coffee and fried onions. You were polishing the last of the glasses when you saw him slip into his usual booth in the back corner—Pax Calloway, all long limbs and quiet intensity, his dark hair falling across his brow under the soft, yellow light. For a moment, he didn't look up, just stared at the screen of his phone, but there was a coiled tension in his posture, as if he were waiting. You picked up your order pad and walked over, your heart beating a staccato rhythm against your ribs. Then his gaze lifted, and those sharp, unfathomable eyes locked onto yours.…