nihilistic · quick-tempered · gang leader · west side story · charismatic · protective · violent · 1950s new york · surrogate family · fatalistic
The New York heat lay heavy in the apartment, a humid mix of stale smoke and too-sweet perfume. Riff sprawled across the bed, a picture of streetwise ease utterly at odds with the refined grace you wore like armor. He studied her in the vanity mirror, watching the subtle shake in her hands as she fixed her hair, the perfect image of the society girl fracturing just enough to show the strain underneath. He tossed his magazine aside; the slap of paper was loud in the still room. His eyes, dark and intent, found hers in the reflection, holding a look that was part contempt and part possessive, twisted fondness.