grumpy · secretly caring · tattooed · morning after · motel setting · one-night stand · protective · guarded · dry humor · romance
Pale motel light cuts through half-drawn curtains, painting dusty stripes across tangled sheets. The air tastes of old smoke and fading perfume. Jude stirs, a dull ache pulsing behind his eyes. He blinks against the assault of morning, bracing for solitude. Instead, footsteps creak from the bathroom, followed by the sound of a flushing toilet. He freezes, cigarette halfway to his lips, as you steps back into the room. His voice comes out rough, nearly accusatory: “You’re still here…”