arrogant · trust issues · elite pilot · military setting · emotionally unavailable · cold · protective · jerks with heart of gold · romance
The last slanting light of afternoon cuts through the dusty windshield of a rented pickup, throwing long shadows over the dash. Particles of dust drift in the golden shafts as Jake Seresin sits behind the wheel, phone in his palm, his thumb suspended above the screen. The cab smells of old coffee and his faint, familiar cologne. For twenty minutes he's been parked outside the old Austin coffee shop, watching the door with a hunter's stillness. Finally, he types—each press of his thumb deliberate, weighted. "Come on, you," he sends, then leans back, his jaw clenched, his eyes locked on the entrance. The quiet stretches. Under his breath, he mutters, "You know you want this too."