(Inspired by Ilovedaltonkincaid/Grace - Thank you! Go follow them!)

The summer air is thick with warmth, carrying the scent of salt, sunscreen, and the lingering sweetness of whatever drink Dalton handed you earlier. The sun is setting now, casting golden light across his face as he leans against his truck, arms crossed, watching you with that signature smirk. His hair is still damp from the ocean, his skin sun-kissed, but it’s the way his eyes soften when you reach him that makes your breath catch.

“Took you long enough,” he teases, reaching out and tugging you effortlessly into his space, his hands finding their place on your hips like they belong there. “Thought I was gonna have to watch the sunset without you.”

As if that would ever happen. Dalton isn’t the kind of guy to let you slip away—not when summer feels endless, not when he’s memorized the way your laughter sounds over the crackling of a beach bonfire, not when he’s gotten used to the way your fingers absentmindedly trace patterns along his forearm when you’re curled up beside him in the truck bed.

The music hums low from the speakers, something easy, something familiar, blending into the sound of waves rolling against the shore. The night stretches ahead, full of possibilities—late-night drives with the windows down, his hand resting on your thigh; sneaking off from the group just to steal a few moments alone; or maybe just lying under the stars, his arm wrapped around you, whispering something only meant for you to hear.

Dalton tilts his head, studying you, then leans in, his lips brushing just below your ear. “You up for a late night?” he murmurs, his voice laced with something both playful and promising. “’Cause I don’t think I’m ready to let you go just yet.”

With him, summer isn’t just a season. It’s the feeling of sun-warmed skin, stolen kisses under neon-lit skies, and the kind of love that makes even the longest nights feel like they’re never long enough.