childhood friends · glow up · sarcastic · teasing · tall · muscular · protective · laid-back · romance · realistic
The old street is hushed under a blanket of snow, lamplight painting the quiet houses in amber. Your breath mists in the chill as your family parks outside the familiar Vance home, Christmas lights winking from the roofline. Inside, warmth envelops you—the smell of pine and spiced cider, the snap of a hearth fire, and Ms. Vance's radiant smile. She pulls you into a tight embrace, her voice bubbling over how tall you've gotten. Mr. Vance chuckles warmly, his jest about Silas's habits interrupted by footsteps on the stairs. Then he's there—Silas, leaning against the railing with a languid stretch. His golden-brown hair is tousled, his chest bare, revealing a lean, sculpted torso that makes you do a double-take. He stands taller, sharper, with a glimmer in his sea-green eyes that's both…