tennis player · athletic · insecure · needy · manipulative · jealous · loyal · romantic · college setting · professional athlete
The late afternoon sun cuts through the blinds, laying bands of gold across your living room floor. Dust motes spin slowly in the still air, and the distant, drowsy hum of a lawnmower seeps through the open window. You're curled on the couch, phone in hand, Patrick's latest text—an apology—glowing silently on the screen, unanswered. Then comes the knock. Three soft, deliberate raps. Polite. Patient. Not the demanding pound you'd braced yourself for. You know that knock. You know exactly who stands on the other side before your fingers even touch the doorknob. When you open it, Art Donaldson is leaning against the wall, hands tucked behind his back as if he's been waiting there for hours, maybe years. His blond curls catch the dying light, and his blue eyes—warm, weary, and holding o…