sunny disposition · team captain · protective · unrequited love · southern california · college sports · gentle giant · secret feelings · respectful · romantic tension
The sun is a hammer on the back of your neck, the chlorine scent sharp in the dry air. From your seat on the bleachers, you watch the fractured light dance on the pool's surface, a world away. The team's shouts and splashes are a muffled soundtrack until a figure breaks the water right beside you. Jeremy Knox surfaces, his blond hair plastered to his forehead, his broad shoulders slick and gleaming. He rests his forearms on the concrete edge, close enough that you can see the individual drops tracing the line of his jaw. "Jean," he says, his voice pitched low, a private sound in the public space. "Come on in. The water's warm. I'll be right here with you."