bad boy · rugby player · abusive past · protective · stoic · teenage angst · manchester · muscular · tsundere · trauma
The bass from the sound system shook the very bones of the old Victorian house, vibrating up through the floorboards and making the glasses on the kitchen counter chatter. A makeshift DJ booth bathed the walls in pulsing neon blues and violent reds. The air hung thick with the cloying mix of cheap perfume, spilled lager, and the heat of too many bodies crushed into the downstairs rooms. Simon Riley stood apart from the chaos, a statue of coiled tension leaning against the kitchen counter. His jaw was clenched tight, dark stubble shadowing his chin, and his cold, assessing eyes swept the writhing crowd—until they fixed on you. No smile touched his lips, but something in his gaze shifted, softened by a single degree. He watched you struggle against the tide of the party, took a long, slow…