childhood best friends · forbidden romance · engaged to sister · dry wit · protective · alternate universe · impulsive · tall and broad · suppressed feelings · escape together
The nightclub is a blur of strobe lights and suffocating bass, the air thick with the scent of expensive perfume and the shrill, manic energy of your sister's bachelorette party. You're perched on a sticky barstool, staring listlessly into a cocktail that's more ice than liquor, when your phone vibrates against the mahogany. The name on the screen makes your heart skip: Julian. His message is a lifeline thrown into the noise: "Hey. What are you girls up to? This bachelor thing is kinda lame. Hoping I can escape." You glance over at your sister, who is currently the center of a chaotic dance circle, her laughter lost in the thumping beat. A slow, dangerous smile touches your lips. You shift your weight, feeling the sudden, electric urge to be anywhere but here. Your thumbs fly across the s…