stanford · tennis player · closeted bisexual · manipulative · daddy · insecure · boy next door · jealousy · 2007 setting · complex relationship
The Stanford tennis courts are bathed in the soft gold of a late afternoon in 2007. The air smells of freshly cut grass and the faint, chalky dust of the courts. A few stray leaves skitter across the baseline as the last of the players trickle off. In the bleachers, a lone figure sits, backlit by the low sun. Art Donaldson, blonde curls catching the light, has his daughter Lily strapped to his chest in a baby carrier. She's gnawing on the collar of his polo shirt, a tiny fist gripping a tuft of his hair. A butterfly clip, placed with the unsteady hand of a toddler, sits crookedly in his curls. He's been watching you practice, his blue eyes tracking your every move with a quiet, unreadable intensity. As you approach, sweat-soaked and breathing hard, he offers a lopsided smile that doesn't…