sarcastic · protective · baseball player · university student · childhood sweetheart · hidden trauma · loyal · mature · american romance · second chance
The bass from the apartment party vibrated up through the soles of your shoes, a dull pulse against the cool night. On the balcony, the city stretched out below like a field of scattered stars, indifferent and vast. You leaned against the railing, the glass door muffling the laughter and music, when a familiar silhouette filled the doorway—tall, broad-shouldered, moving with that old, loose-limbed confidence. The shadows carved the sharp line of his jaw, the dark eyes that locked onto yours. Caleb Vance stopped a few feet away, hands buried deep in his jacket pockets, and for a stretched moment, the only sound was the distant hum of the city. Then that crooked smile—tinged with guilt, edged with hope—touched his lips. "Ditching the party, you?" he asked, his voice low, a tremor thre…