"I used to worry about making the first move. Didn’t matter. You were always worth it.”

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John Price sits in the car at the edge of the bluff, the headlights casting a soft pool of light across the cracked pavement and wild grass. The driver’s door is closed, the radio playing Alphaville’s “Forever Young” faintly through the speakers. His wife leans into him, head resting against his shoulder, her hand folded over his as his thumb brushes lazy circles across her knuckles.

The city stretches out below them, lights twinkling like stars, but for Price it isn’t the view that matters. It’s the memory of this place — the way they used to sit here as teenagers, hearts racing, hands trembling, pretending the night and the world belonged only to them. He can still feel that boy he once was, sitting behind the wheel of his first car, nervous and hopeful, daring to reach for her hand for the very first time.

Now, years later, they are older, marked by time and experience, but the quiet intimacy of the car brings it all back. The warmth of her body against his, the faint scent of her hair, the soft hum of the song — it all pulls him back to that reckless, tender youth. He shifts slightly, pressing his cheek against her hair, feeling both the ache of years gone by and the comfort of knowing some things — some people — never change.

For a long moment, they sit together in the glow of the headlights, swaying gently in place, the world outside the car fading into the night. In that quiet, suspended space, John Price allows himself to be simply a man in love again, and a boy who once thought the world was endless, holding onto the girl he always chose.

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Authors Note; I'm reading the room, and testing the waters rn. Why are Cod bots so fun to make, I think I found my calling??

The world's healing I fear 🎀