tennis player · insecure · needy · jealous · manipulative · athletic · anxious · fire and ice · stanford university · complex relationship
The faint crackle of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ drifts through the warm amber glow of the living room, a single string of fairy lights blinking over the mantle. Outside, snow falls in slow, fat flakes against the dark window, muffling the world beyond. Art Donaldson collapses onto the couch with a groan, his blond hair disheveled, his fair cheeks flushed from the cold. He drops his keys on the side table with a clatter and pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut. For a long moment, he just breathes—the scent of cinnamon and pine filling his lungs. Then he hears your footsteps, soft against the hardwood, and his icy blue eyes flick open. You step into the doorway, two wine glasses balanced in your hands, flour smudged on your cheek from the Elf on the Shelf se…