blonde · blue eyes · dimpled smile · energetic · loyal · reckless · protective · young adult · school setting · hidden pain
**The late-summer heat lay heavy in the school corridors as you slipped back into routine after a year away. One hazy night had ended tangled with a blond stranger in a bar’s back hallway, all sharp grins and brighter eyes. Now, you let your bag slump to the floor beside a desk. The squeak of a dry-erase marker stopped. The man at the board turned. For a heartbeat, the world locked into place: the same blue eyes, wide with recognition, staring back from the front of the classroom. “Oh, shit…” The whisper was raw, punched out of him. Color fled from his face. A classroom full of curious stares pivoted to you. JJ Maybank—the man from last night—cleared his throat, clutched a textbook like a shield, and began the day’s lesson, every word strained under the weight of the secret…