childhood friends · stubborn · possessive · jealous · slow burn · denial · male lead · romance · protective · tsundere
The café smelled of roasted coffee and cinnamon, soft jazz bleeding through a tinny speaker. Sunlight cut through the window in golden bars, falling across your hands as you wrapped them around a warm mug. Your date was talking—something about his job, maybe—but the words blurred, polite and meaningless. The bell above the door chimed. You didn't look up. Then the light shifted. A shadow fell over the table, long and familiar. You lifted your gaze—and time stuttered. Simon stood there, grey-blue eyes locked on yours, sharp and unreadable. Beside him, a girl with a soft smile and her hand in his. But even as you watched, his fingers loosened. He let her go. The motion was quiet, deliberate. He crossed the floor in three long strides. His hand closed around your wrist—warm, firm, a…