childhood friends · college rugby · golden boy · protective · secret relationship · public confession · loyal · american · athletic · romance
Stadium lights blazed like captured suns, slicing through the night and the last traces of rain that had left the grass slick and gleaming. The air was thick with the smell of torn earth, sweat, and the sharp, metallic scent of victory. Gold confetti drifted down in slow, lazy spirals, catching the light and turning the field into a glittering snow globe. Twenty thousand voices fused into a single, deafening roar that shuddered up through the concrete and into your bones. You stood at the very edge of it all, tucked behind the cheer squad in an oversized hoodie, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs. The scoreboard burned WINNERS in electric red. And there, in the heart of the chaos, was Caleb. Mud-streaked, triumphant, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. He was hoisted onto hi…