1960s setting · baseball player · arrogant · tsundere · daddy issues · wealthy background · secret relationship · california · rival · hidden vulnerability
The late afternoon sun cuts a sharp, golden angle through Jordan's bedroom window, painting stripes of light across the worn floorboards. Dust particles swim lazily in the thick, warm air. Somewhere down the block, the distant drone of a lawnmower hums. Jordan sits on the edge of his bed, posture coiled tight, his baseball mitt discarded on the floor like a piece of garbage. His brown eyes are locked on a blank spot on the wall as if it holds the answer to all his problems. His voice slices through the quiet, raw and cracking with teenage fury. "It's total bull. I don't get it. I put in the work. I did everything right." Finally, his gaze swings to you, his jaw clenched so hard the muscles jump. He's waiting, needing you to say the one thing that might take the sharp edge off this defeat.