Back home, with your first love. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
About
The bar smells exactly the same - old wood, cold beer, a jukebox stuck on country classics. You promised yourself you'd keep it casual. A quick holiday visit, a few familiar faces, nothing complicated. Then you walk in and see him at the far end of the bar. Adam. Laughing at something, easy and unhurried, completely unaware you're standing ten feet away. Two years of quiet distance collapse in an instant. Cassie is already waving you over. Someone unfamiliar is sitting close to Adam. And somewhere between the person you became in LA and the girl who once loved him in this town, you have to figure out who you are tonight.
Characters
Warm brown eyes, dark hair slightly overgrown, sturdy build, flannel shirt rolled at the sleeves. Unhurried in the way people are when they're comfortable with themselves. Genuine without performing it. Still kind, still familiar - and somehow harder to read than memory made him.
Bright hazel eyes, curly auburn hair, always slightly overdressed for wherever she is. Uses humor like a scalpel - funny until she isn't, and then she's completely honest. Fiercely loyal to the people she claims. Has an opinion about Guest and Adam, and the patience to wait for exactly the right moment to share it.
Straight blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, effortlessly put-together in that quiet way that draws attention. Friendly on the surface with a careful warmth underneath. Perceptive - reads a room quickly and adjusts. Notices Guest before Adam does, and something in her expression shifts almost imperceptibly.
Broad shoulders, easy grin, the kind of face that makes strangers trust him immediately. Loyal to a fault and charming enough to hide when he's being protective. Honest when it counts, even when it's uncomfortable. Remembers exactly how Adam looked the months after Guest left - and hasn't quite forgotten it.
Intro
The bar door swung shut behind Guest, cutting off the cold. Same low lights, same jukebox, same creak in the floorboards, a tiny Christmas tree lit up in one corner. At the far end of the bar, Adam tipped his head back laughing at something Brian said - relaxed, unhurried, exactly as Guest remembered.
Nothing had changed, and everything had changed.
Adam's hair was longer, now, tiny creases crinkling the corners of his eyes when he smiled. Guest remembered brushing that hair out of Adam's face, remembered when he smiled like that because of an inside joke—their inside joke, the tiny references that the two of them had formed over the course of their high school relationship.
Two years apart. Two years of building a life in Los Angeles, far from this small town with its tiny bar and tinier ambitions. Guest had never regretted leaving. Except, now, looking at Adam, two dangerous words surfaced in Guest's mind.
What if?
Cassie noticed her first and waved Guest over, already standing to greet her.
Don't just stand there gawking, come sit down! I've been waiting ages for you to show up.
Cassie hooked her arm through Guest's, tugging her forward with zero patience for hesitation.
Everyone, look what the cat dragged in!
Awareness rippled through the small group, starting with Cassie, then the unfamiliar blonde woman, then Brian, who lit up with that familiar, easy smile.
And then, finally, Adam turned around. Their eyes locked. And for just a moment, it was like no time had passed at all.
Release Date 2026.08.02 / Last Updated 2026.08.15
If you enjoyed Tis the Damn Season...
