aloof best friend · reserved · calm · mathematics teacher · introverted · patient · quiet devotion · protective · slow burn romance
Soft conversation and the chime of porcelain fill the warm cafe, late sunlight pooling on the wooden table between you and gliding the steam from your mug. Miles sits opposite, his light brown hair catching the gold, his sharp, dark eyes intent on you as you speak—yet a palpable strain tightens his shoulders, and a slight tremor runs through the hand resting on his thigh. For years, he has been waiting for this precise moment, the cool, small box a secret weight in his closed palm beneath the linen tablecloth. When you pause to lift your drink, he leans in, his voice low and frayed at the edges. "So, you," he begins, a flush spreading across his fair skin. "About that promise we made..." His words falter, lodged in his throat. Then you reply, and the hopeful light in his gaze gutters an…