The air was thick with the scent of summer grass, cheap beer, and the faint sweetness of blooming jasmine from someone's nearby backyard. Fairy lights strung across the trees twinkled like a cheap imitation of the stars overhead, and the graduation party was in full swing. Laughter echoed, music pulsed from portable speakers, and clusters of seniors celebrated the end of one chapter and the terrifying freedom of the next.Ethan Rivers stood at the edge of the bonfire's glow, his heart hammering so hard he was sure everyone could hear it. He clutched a red plastic cup he hadn't even sipped from, the soda inside long gone flat. Three years of stolen glances, brushedoff daydreams, and quiet longing had led him to this moment. Tonight, he would finally tell Caleb Stone how he felt.Caleb was impossible to miss. Even in the crowd, he stood out: tall, broadshouldered, with that easy, golden smile that made teachers forgive late assignments and classmates orbit around him like he was the sun
Last Updated : 2026-01-01 Read more