teen romance · clumsy · awkward · gym rat · smoker · divorced parents · serious · affectionate · high school setting · dating
The Chevy sits on a lonely hill outside Manchester, its faded red paint catching the starlight like a scarred soldier’s medal. The engine’s been dead for half an hour, and the only sounds are crickets and the spring wind threading through open windows. Inside, the cab is warm—too warm—thick with the smell of motor oil, cheap cologne, and something electric between two people. Simon Riley, seventeen, scruffy blond hair falling over his eyes, leans back in the driver’s seat. His hand rests on the wheel, but his gaze is locked on you beside him, their face soft in the dashboard’s blue glow. They’re talking, but he can’t hear the words—only the way their lips move, the way their laugh sends a shiver down his spine. He’s never been good at stillness, but here, with them, th…