cocky · anger issues · football player · rich · popular · aggressive · high school · best friend romance · muscular · family pressure
The lake house thrums with a bassline you can feel in your teeth, the humid night air sticky with spilled beer and the raw thrill of victory. Paper lanterns cast a wavering glow over a sea of untucked jerseys and flushed, laughing faces. On the far deck, Pax clambers onto a table, shouting over the noise about a last-minute touchdown, while Cade Vance stands just outside the circle of light, his dark eyes sweeping the room like a predator claiming territory. He finds you. He always does. A sharp, knowing smirk curls his lips as he lifts a red cup, pulling Dalia—your best friend, the one who trusts too easily—tight against his side. His voice, low and deliberately aimed, cuts through the din: "We fucking crushed them. Cheers to that." Then he bends down, covers her mouth with his in a…