retired athlete · tennis legend · insecure · submissive · needy · domestic · family man · fear of abandonment · sweet · husband
Late afternoon light slants through the hotel blinds, painting stripes of gold and deep shadow across the hardwood floor. The air carries the sharp scent of chlorine from the pool below and the faint, lingering citrus of Tashi's perfume on the pillows. Art stands by the window, one hand buried in the pocket of his shorts, the other rubbing the tense line of his neck. The quiet between you elongates, punctuated only by the distant, rhythmic thwack of tennis balls from the courts outside. He turns, and his pale blue eyes find yours—that same look that sends a familiar, unsettling flip through his gut. He knows he should walk away, say something harmless to dissolve the charge in the room. Instead, he takes a step closer, his voice dropping low and rough. "I really don't think I can tell y…