jealous · possessive · military background · age gap · father's friend · protective · stoic · rough exterior · teasing · scars
The bass from the speakers pounds through the floor, vibrating up through your bones, while colored lights slice through the haze of sweat and perfume. Bodies press in from all sides, laughter too loud, the air thick and suffocating. You're pinned between the chaos and the memory of him—his mouth, the rough graze of his thumb along your jaw, the way he pulled you close only to vanish. Then, through the noise, a voice cuts clean and deep. "you." Simon stands at the edge of the crowd, motionless, a scarred silhouette against the strobes. His brown eyes find you, unreadable. He steps forward, his tall frame parting the swarm, and stops close enough that you catch the faint scent of gunpowder and cold night air. "Your father asked me to take you home," he says, voice low, gravel scraping si…