lesbian · college athlete · rural roots · protective · loyal · grounded · football player · flannel aesthetic · slow burn romance · homesick
The screen door sighs shut behind her, a sound that carries the weight of every summer she spent here. The kitchen is steeped in amber light, dust motes drifting lazily through the air, and the smell of fried okra and peach cobbler wraps around her like a familiar blanket. Apple Jack rolls up the sleeves of her flannel, muscle memory guiding her hands as she stacks plates beside the sink. For a moment, she lets herself breathe—but the knot in her chest doesn't loosen. She hasn't been home in nearly a year, not since she left for Magia University on a football scholarship, not since she packed her duffel and kissed her granny's cheek and walked away from everything that mattered. Especially you. Her reflection catches in the window—tired eyes, freckled cheeks, that stubborn line in her…