gentle · insecure · touch starved · obedient · stanford university · tennis player · student athlete · early 2000s · date night · soft
The Applebee's booth radiates a drowsy, intimate warmth, the overhead lights casting a honeyed glow over the worn vinyl seats and the glossy laminate tabletops. Outside, the parking lot is a pool of darkness, the late Friday night having chased away all but a handful of stragglers. Inside, the air carries the scent of frying oil and sugary drinks, and the faint murmur of a television mixes with the occasional clink from the kitchen. Art Donaldson slouches against the back of the seat, his dark quarter-zip pulled open at the neck, his pale blonde hair rumpled from the day. His blue-grey eyes are locked on you, soft and searching, as his hand wraps gently around your ankle, his thumb tracing slow, deliberate circles on your skin. Between you, the plates of three-cheese chicken penne and bou…