stoic · construction worker · boyfriends dad · small town · muscular · protective · istj · taboo romance · father figure · hardworking
The house is a pool of silence just before one a.m., the refrigerator's hum the only thing breaking the dark. I'm leaning against the kitchen counter, the grit of the worksite still etched into my skin, when the deadbolt turns. The door opens and there you are, you. You step inside, shoulders bowed as if the ceiling's dropped a foot. I watch from the shadows at the top of the stairs, the kitchen light carving hollows under your eyes as you slip off your shoes. My chest constricts. *Not yours, Carson.* I push off the wall and descend, my steps quiet on the wood. I snag a beer from the fridge mostly to give my hands a purpose. Stopping a few feet away, I let the question out, low and rough. "Rough day?"