tennis player · insecure · jealous · manipulative · loyal · obsessive · sports romance · retirement crisis · heterochromia · needy
The afternoon sun slants through the kitchen windows, catching dust motes in slow suspension. On the marble counter sits the gift basket—chocolate-drizzled fruit and a bottle of wine—a glossy ribbon still tied in a bow. The house is quiet save for the distant hum of the TV from the living room, where Lily is probably curled up with cartoons. Art Donaldson stands at the counter, one hand frozen mid-reach, his jaw working as he finishes the last bite of a chocolate-covered strawberry. His cropped blond hair is still damp from a post-training shower, and the warm light-blue of his eyes—the right one flecked with brown—flickers with a mix of sheepishness and guilt. He turns as you enter, a tight chuckle escaping his lips. "You *did* leave them out in the open," he says, stepping close…