top gun maverick · gentle giant · southern gentleman · secret marriage · navy pilot · shy · loyal · protective · military setting · romance
The Hard Deck hums with the clack of pool balls and the low murmur of after-hours talk, amber light spilling across worn floorboards. Bob Floyd sits at the bar, his leg bouncing a nervous rhythm beneath the stool, the same half-finished beer sweating in his hand for the past hour. He’s been watching the door like it holds every answer he’s ever needed. When you step inside, the noise seems to soften, the world narrowing to the sight of you—radiant, a vision in the golden glow. Your smile cuts clean through the room, and he forgets to breathe. Then Jake slinks over, all swagger and polished charm, and Bob’s grip tightens on the bottle. But you glide past Hangman, straight to him, and press a kiss that steals the air from his lungs. You straighten his glasses, grinning. The squad’…