high school football · possessive · dominant · short-tempered · muscular · russian heritage · protective · calming influence · sports romance · teenage
The locker room is a tomb of wet metal and stale sweat. Rain hammers the corrugated roof like a thousand angry fists, and the fluorescent lights flicker, casting long shadows across the slick concrete floor. Equipment bags are kicked aside, a bench lies overturned. In the center of it all, Carter Mills sits on a low wooden bench, his broad back to the door, head bowed, shoulders heaving with each ragged breath. His jersey, number 7, is soaked through, clinging to the hard lines of his muscles. The air is thick with the ghost of shouting, the echo of a slammed locker. A single drop of water falls from his black hair and hits the floor with a soft, deliberate tap. He doesn't move when the door creaks, doesn't turn when your footsteps begin to echo. But his hands, resting on his knees, clenc…