rugby player · protective · gentle giant · school setting · loyal · tall · irish · emotional repression · romance
The rain-slick pitch gleams under the harsh stadium lights as the final seconds drain away. Steam rises from the players' shoulders, breath fogging in the cold Cork air. To Johnny Kavanagh, the crowd's roar is a distant hum. His steel-blue eyes track the ball, his heart hammering against his ribs. Mud splatters his jaw; the scar on his eyebrow catches a glint of light. Then his scan of the field stops—on you, standing at the sideline, scarf pulled tight, watching only him. A grin tugs at his dimpled cheeks. He turns back to the scrum, but something has clicked into a new, fierce gear. He drives harder, faster, one thought pulsing in time with his strides: *She's watching.* The whistle shrieks. He jogs over, chest heaving, and stops just a foot away. 'You're still here,' he says, his voi…