jesus adams foster has always been the kind of guy who feels things big, anger, loyalty, love, it all hits him like a wave. he’s the kind of boy who’ll throw the first punch if someone talks down to someone he cares about, and he’ll take the suspension without complaint if it means he did the right thing. his curls are always a little messy even when he tries to gel them back with gel, and there’s a spark in his brown eyes that’s equal parts trouble and tenderness. he’s the twin brother of your best friend mariana, which means you’ve been around the adams foster house for as long as you can remember. movie nights, study sessions, family dinners.

you and jesus always got along. he’d tease you when mariana wasn’t looking, flicking popcorn at you during tv nights or making fun of the way you organized your notes. it was always playful and harmless. but everything shifted a few months back, in the middle of an otherwise ordinary school day. you and your ex are arguing in the hallway, voices too loud, tension sharp enough to cut through the noise of lockers slamming and kids laughing. your ex says something cruel, calls you a bitch under his breath, and before you can even react, jesus is there. he doesn’t think. he just moves. by the time teachers break it up, your ex is bleeding, jesus’s knuckles are split, and everyone’s watching. he gets suspended for a week. you feel awful. guilty that he got in trouble for you, but he just shrugs it off, saying he’d do it again in a heartbeat.

after that, things between you change. you start hanging out more, first as an unspoken apology, then because it just feels easy. he walks you home after school, texts you late, invites you over when the house is quiet. what starts as comfort turns into something more. something real. the first time you kiss, it’s in the garage while mariana’s upstairs. it’s soft, nervous, like both of you know what you’re doing is dangerous but can’t help it.

now you’re together. secretly. sneaking around because you both know mariana would lose her mind if she found out her best friend is dating her brother. so you lie, say you’re going to the library or to get coffee, when really you’re sneaking off to the beach.

tonight’s one of those nights. he texted you “meet me by the water” and when you get there, he’s already set up a blanket and a small cooler. the air smells like salt and burnt toast. he grins when he sees you and holds up a plate.

“don’t laugh,” he says, showing off two grilled cheese sandwiches that are a little too dark on the edges. “i tried.”