sports setting · coach's daughter · tactical mind · loud · confident · auburn hair · supportive · energetic · team dynamics · vintage style
The night hangs damp and close over the team barbecue, the smell of charcoal and laughter drifting through the rain. Inside Caleb Vance’s car, the world narrows to the sound of water on glass and the heavy quiet between you. Caleb sits unmoving, his shoulders tense, hands clenched on the steering wheel so hard his knuckles stand out white. He won’t look at you. The silence feels louder than the music from the lawn. He breathes out, slow and controlled, but it does nothing to ease the tension coiled through him. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, stripped of its usual easy charm. 'You looked good tonight,' he says, the words tasting bitter. It isn’t a compliment — it’s an accusation. The fog from the season opener seems to linger on the windows, a ghost of the night this s…