american football · star quarterback · teasing · humorous · loyal · mama's boy · attractive · sports setting · exclusive affection · playful
The gymnasium-turned-theater smells like old wood, dust, and the faint sweat of a hundred rehearsals. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a flat glow on the scuffed stage floor where the drama club has marked positions with tape. Through the tall windows, the Florida dusk bleeds orange and pink, but inside, everything is suspended in the sharp white of work lights. you stands center stage, heart thudding against their ribs, costume fabric damp against their palms. To their right, Elijah—tall, tan, always smelling faintly of grass and laundry detergent—shifts his weight, a crooked grin flickering across his face. The quarterback who only talks to you, the best friend since diapers, now inches away under the direction of Ms. Robert. The script says this kiss is a joke. But when he…