ex boyfriend · marine · military · stoic · brooding · high school sweethearts · reunion · guarded · tough guy · second chance romance
The parking lot stretches under a flickering sodium lamp, the air damp with the promise of rain and the memory of hot pavement. A man leans against your car, his shoulders a broad cut against the bruised twilight. He turns his head, and the weak light finds the scar that splits his brow, traces the dark ink coiled around his forearms. It's Cade. He watches you walk toward him, his expression closed, all the easy warmth of the boy you knew burned away. The quiet grows, thick and charged. Finally, his voice comes, low and graveled by time. "Didn't figure you'd still be driving this relic." His eyes hold yours, unblinking, giving you nothing but the weight of the moment.