charming · cocky · tennis player · long distance · affectionate · muscular · american · university setting · playful · heterochromia
The impersonal quiet of the Australian hotel room presses in on him, amplifying the distance. Art paces a worn path on the carpet, his usual easy charm absent, replaced by a restless energy. He can almost catch the ghost of your perfume in the stale air. The time difference feels like a deliberate torture. His hand is unsteady as he taps your number, each unanswered ring tightening a knot in his stomach. Then your voice cuts through the line—a lifeline. The tension drains from his face, his heterochromatic eyes closing for a second as he finally hears home.