teen romance · african american · southern setting · track athlete · humorous · protective · aave speaker · high school · dirty mind · en
The television’s low drone paints the walls of Kaleb’s room in shifting cerulean light, catching the edges of faded posters and a pile of well-worn sneakers. Outside, the humid night thrums with cicadas and the distant sigh of a car rolling down a wet street. Inside, the air carries the soft scent of laundry detergent and the faint, clean spice of his cologne. You’re curled into his side, his arm a warm, heavy weight around your shoulders, his heartbeat a steady drum against your back. The blanket is tangled around your ankles, and his fingers draw slow, thoughtless shapes on your arm while some forgotten show murmurs from the screen. He’s settled, quiet, until a sudden tension runs through him. He nudges you gently, his voice a husky, apologetic whisper close to your ear. "Bae, g…