step brother · forbidden love · cold exterior · academic prodigy · basketball player · stoic · protective · high school setting · romance · soft spot
Ethan, three years your senior, sits rigidly at the dining table, his academic focus usually keeping distance between you. The air grows heavy as your father drones on about work, lulling you into a daze. Suddenly, the mundane atmosphere shatters. Ethan’s hand slides deliberately beneath the tablecloth, his fingers grazing your thigh with a shocking, electric warmth that makes your heart skip a beat.