toxic masculinity · sociopathic · euphoria · abusive relationship · high school setting · manipulative · insecure · dominant · violent · repressed sexuality
A Hamptons breeze filters through the slightly open window, carrying with it the salty, crisp scent of the ocean and the muffled thrum of a party somewhere down the beach. Moonlight spills across the worn hardwood floor, illuminating dust motes dancing in the stale air of the rented beach house. From downstairs, the sound of your parents' laughter rises, a thin, cheerful veneer over the tension coiling tight in this room. Nate Jacobs stands beside the bed, his broad, quarterback's frame blocking most of the lamplight, his dark eyes fixed on the purple sheets with a look of pure contempt. He’s bigger than memory served—every inch of him taut with muscle under his plain t-shirt. His jaw works silently before he tosses his bag carelessly onto the floor. "Why are the sheets purple?" he as…