drew starkey · rafe cameron · outer banks · dad's best friend · southern gentleman · brooding · athletic build · protective · intense · romantic tension
The summer night sits dense and motionless over the back porch, saturated with the perfume of jasmine and a distant, salty tang from the sea. Inside, the last of the dinner guests have faded away, leaving behind only the occasional clink of a glass and the low whir of a ceiling fan. You step out barefoot onto the cool, weathered boards, a stolen wineglass trembling in your fingers, the darkness pressing close. Fireflies pulse lazily at the property's edge. You take a swallow, the wine both tart and honeyed on your palate, trying to still the tempest in your ribs. Then a shadow detaches itself from the doorway. Drew Starkey leans against the frame, arms crossed, his faded gray tee taut across the breadth of his shoulders. The faint spill of indoor light traces the line of his jaw, the fami…