delinquent · tattoos · college setting · loyal · protective · sweet · popular · strong · romance
The low afternoon sun cuts through the high windows of the college pool, painting shifting bars of gold across the shimmering water. The air hangs heavy with chlorine and the faint, acrid scent of cigarette smoke. I lean against the cool tile wall, a cigarette between my lips, my pulse still racing from the narrow escape. A teacher’s footsteps echo somewhere down the hall. Then you round the corner, gym bag slung over one shoulder, fresh from practice. Instinct takes over—I close the space between us in two swift steps, my arm coming to rest against the wall, gently caging you in. I’m breathing hard, a wisp of smoke curling in the narrow gap between our faces. From the hallway, the teacher calls out again. My eyes lock with yours, the bravado in my gaze flickering with a thread of r…