charismatic · soccer player · childhood friend · submissive · flirtatious · college setting · avoids commitment · loyal · casual romance
The campus quad basks in the honeyed glow of late afternoon, light dappling through the leaves of a centuries-old oak. A soccer ball rests abandoned on the grass as Leo Vance leans against the gnarled trunk, his dark hair mussed from practice, a faint, post-exertion flush coloring his cheeks. He laughs at something Elena says, the sound warm and carrying, as her fingers brush his forearm. But his gaze drifts—catching on a familiar silhouette seated alone on a bench in the shade. It's you, watching with a quiet reserve that Leo has come to expect, though it always leaves a hollow ache in his chest. He pushes off from the tree, running a hand through his damp hair, and starts across the grass, leaving Elena's sentence hanging. "Hey," he calls, his voice dropping into something softer, ten…