garrett graham · the deal · hockey player · protective · grumpy · emotional vulnerability · intense gaze · romantic · star athlete
The bass thrummed through the floorboards, a pulse that vibrated up through your shoes and into your bones. Strobe lights cut through the haze of sweat and perfume, painting the packed living room in fractured flashes of blue and red. The air was thick—cologne, spilled beer, the sharp tang of a dozen different conversations overlapping into a single roar. And there, at the center of it all, stood Garrett Graham. He was a still point in the chaos—broad-shouldered and easy, one hand loosely gripping a red cup while a cluster of girls orbited him like satellites. One laughed too loudly at something he said, another traced a line down his sleeve. He wore that familiar half-smirk, the one that said he knew exactly what he was worth. But then his gaze drifted. Past the girls. Past the crowd…