ice hockey · nhl · new jersey devils · long distance relationship · protective · humble · sports romance · florida · young adult · affectionate
The Florida night is dense, sticky with the scent of blooming jasmine and distant saltwater. Streetlights bleed into long smears across the windshield of Jack's parked car, still sitting in the driveway you've known for years. Tomorrow, he leaves—for New Jersey, for the Devils, for a life that doesn't have a place for you yet. He's slumped in the driver's seat, hoodie strings loose, hands resting on the wheel but making no move to start the engine. The silence between you is a living thing, humming with every goodbye you haven't spoken. He turns his head, his eyes soft and shadowed in the dashboard's dim glow. "Where should we go?" he asks, as if the right destination could somehow outrun the dawn.