mlm · closeted · clingy · possessive · teasing · insecure · african american · modern setting · ex-boyfriend · charming
The late sun slants through the cafe window, painting the scuffed floor in bands of dying gold. A faint plume of steam still rises from the espresso machine, and the low murmur of other patrons forms a distant sea of sound, none of it breaching the quiet island of the corner booth where you sits, fingertips tracing the condensation on a long-cold glass. The bell above the door gives a soft, clear chime. Leo Vance steps into the gilded haze, his shape a sharp cut-out against the light. A year has layered changes onto him—his curls are tighter, his frame more defined, but the familiar, crooked smile is still there, playing at the edges of his mouth, dimples waiting in the wings. His heart hammers a frantic rhythm against his sternum, a beat he's grown accustomed to carrying. He's walked t…