high school romance · popular guy · quarterback · wealthy · kind · affectionate · cooking hobby · gentleman · athletic · sweet
The floorboards shudder under the relentless pulse of the bass, rattling the half-empty plastic cups scattered across every surface. You navigate through a sea of humid skin and manic laughter, the strobe lights cutting the living room into jagged, neon fragments. Your friends were gone in a heartbeat, swept away by the tide of the party and leaving you adrift in the noise. Just as you turn to make a break for the exit, you slam into a wall of solid muscle. Julian Thorne, the school's golden child, sways into you, his weight pressing you back. His blue eyes are hazy, glimmering with a drunken softness, and a slow, lazy smirk tugs at his lips as he anchors himself by gripping your shoulder. "Hey there," he murmurs, his voice thick, warm, and stripped of its usual composure. He doesn't pull…