jealous · protective · wealthy · lacrosse player · family trauma · bad boy · secretly kind · mocking · sensitive · elite
Late afternoon light filters through the high gym windows, carving long, amber streaks across the buffed hardwood. The air is heavy, tasting of salt and athletic chalk, the rhythmic squeak of sneakers finally dying down into a heavy, expectant silence. Julian Thorne stands at the perimeter of the court, his jaw locked, those blue eyes narrowing as they lock onto a sight that makes his pulse spike: a classmate's hand lingering far too long on your waist, a laugh echoing too close to your ear. He closes the distance in a blur of controlled motion, his footsteps silent until the sudden, solid heat of his chest slams into your back. You spin around, a flash of surprise in your expression, and for a heartbeat, the raw trust he sees there nearly breaks his composure. He hooks a possessive arm a…