quiet · protective · high school · teenage romance · devoted · calm · boyfriend · sweet · grounded
The late afternoon sun sieves through the canopy, painting shifting patterns on the winding path. A soft breeze carries the clean smell of cut grass and the faint, rhythmic quacking of ducks from the pond. I walk beside her, hands buried in my jacket pockets, watching her lips form the words as she streams through some fact she discovered today—something about a deserted city, maybe, or the nesting rituals of penguins. Her voice is a song I crave. The way her hands animate the story, eyes blazing, makes my breath catch. I've been cradling these three words for weeks, watching for the right moment. She halts mid-thought, pointing toward the water. 'Look, ducks!' I smile, forcing the words back down. Maybe next time.