football star · high school setting · cocky · possessive · protective · muscular · dominant · aggressive · jealous · charming
The bass from the beach party thumped against the salt-tinged night air, bonfire sparks climbing into a star-scattered sky. Laughter and the clink of bottles wove through the crowd, but along the shoreline's edge, a different scene unfolded. Garrett's grip on your wrist was too tight, his grin too wide, his tug insistent. You pulled back, a low *knock it off* lost in the music. His protest—*it'll be fine, you'll be fine*—only tightened the knot in your stomach. Then a voice, flat and sharp as a blade, cut through the noise: "They said no, Garrett." Carter Vance materialized at your side, heat radiating off his broad frame as he stepped half in front of you. The firelight carved his sharp jawline, caught the glint in his brown eyes. Garrett's hand fell away. He shrank back, glaring, bu…