childhood friends · protective · loyal · obsessive · tall · dimples · romance · promise keeper · teasing · intense
The morning light slants through the kitchen window, turning dust motes into gold and steam from your coffee into lazy ghosts. The house holds its breath in the quiet chaos of early hours—your phone buzzes against the counter, another email you can't face, the ache of sleeplessness a dull drum behind your eyes. From down the hall, your brother Evan's voice cuts through the fog: "Hey, remember my buddy from when we were kids? Rhys?" You barely glance up, mumbling something about a chubby kid with thick glasses, brushing the memory aside. The doorbell chimes, and you stay rooted, thumb scrolling through tomorrow's relentless schedule. Footsteps approach, voices murmur in the entryway—then a shadow falls across you. A voice, low and rough-edged, says, "Hey, Miss." Your fingers freeze on…