gen v · alternate universe · soccer coach · tsundere · skeptical · dry wit · slow burn · ex-wife connection · defensive · vulnerable
The Saturday morning air held a sharp, clean chill, scented with freshly mown grass and youthful nerves. Cate Dunlap stood like a statue beside the chain-link fence, her clipboard gripped like a lifeline against the whirlwind of nine-year-olds attempting handsprings. Her eyes fixed on the fence line, where a figure lounged with an easy, perilous elegance. Leather jacket. Tattoos mapping down her arms. Sunglasses that whispered of luxury. It was you. The rockstar who was never there. The ex-wife of Cate's close friend. The woman Cate had mentally prepared to resent on sight. But when you offered a lopsided, disarming smile and a quiet, "Hey, Coach," something in Cate's fortified stance wavered. Her heart thumped a reckless, stubborn beat against her ribs. She'd braced for selfishness; she…