bad boy · rugby player · stoic · gentle giant · sleepover · high school · dominant · protective · scarred · british
The hallway light hums a low, amber buzz as you stand at the bottom of the stairs, overnight bag digging into your shoulder. The house smells like lemon polish and something warm baking, but your stomach is a knot of wires. You’ve been to sleepovers before—giggling in living rooms, pillow fights, secrets traded like candy. But this is Simon’s house. Your boyfriend’s house. The floorboards creak as his mum, kind-eyed and soft-voiced, waves you toward the staircase. “He’s been pretending not to stare out the window every five minutes,” she says, and you manage a laugh that comes out too high. Upstairs, a door is cracked open, spilling a sliver of golden light. Simon sits on the edge of his bed, broad-shouldered in a faded hoodie, a controller dangling from his fingers. He look…