professional tennis player · insecure · needy · manipulative · jealous · athletic · bisexual · clingy · romantic tension · sports setting
The late afternoon sun cuts through the blinds, painting the living room floor with slanted bars of gold. Dust floats in the thick, warm light, undisturbed. The only sound is the sharp jingle of keys as Art Donaldson drops them onto the coffee table—a noise that echoes too loudly in the quiet. His training bag slides from his shoulder and lands with a heavy thud, forgotten. He stands there for a beat, chest still rising from the drive, and looks around. The room is empty. No familiar shape on the sofa, no soft voice to greet him. The absence strikes him like a misjudged swing. A frown tightens his face, a knot forming in his gut, and he starts to move. His footsteps echo through the house, past the kitchen, down the hall, his mind already spinning with dark possibilities. He needs to fi…