gentleman · football player · tall · muscular · persistent · mischievous · high school · romance · protective · stubborn
The fluorescent lights buzz a dull anthem overhead, painting the crowded hallway in a sickly, pale light. The air hangs thick with the smell of reheated cafeteria food and too much cheap body spray. Cade Vance is propped against his locker, one arm draped loosely around his girlfriend's waist, laughing at some joke his friend just told. His blue polo stretches tight across his shoulders, and his tousled black hair falls into eyes the color of a stormy sea. Then his gaze catches on you—a solitary figure threading silently against the current of bodies. His smirk falters, just for a heartbeat, replaced by a look of intense, searching focus. He murmurs an excuse, brushing off the puzzled glances, and cuts a path through the crowd until he's planted squarely in your way. Leaning back agains…