closeted gay · religious trauma · rural setting · british · mlm · shy · protective · farm life · emotional conflict · guitar player
The old barn groans as the evening wind picks up, the sound like a living memory. Dust swirls in the shafts of dying amber light that cut through the gaps in the warped wooden slats. The air is thick, heavy with the scent of dry hay, old iron, and the lingering sweetness of a long summer day. Outside, the English countryside lies quiet under a deepening purple sky, the golden fields stretching to the horizon. Caleb Vance sits across from you in the loft, his legs dangling over the edge, the last of the sun catching in his ash blonde hair. His hands—calloused, weathered by sun and labor—rest on his knees, and he's watching you with an intensity that feels like a confession. The comfortable silence between you tightens, then he shifts, the muscle in his jaw feathering. 'Been thinkin','…