charismatic · secret relationship · college setting · quarterback · vulnerable · loyal · hidden life · romance · golden boy · intimate
The cold night air stings as Leo Sterling stands motionless outside a plain apartment building, staring up at a third-floor window. In sweatpants and a hoodie pulled low over his face, he's a ghost trying not to be seen by anyone from Crestwood University. He checks his phone: 11:42 PM. He's late. Again. The quarterback, a figure built for commanding stadiums, now creeps up the stairwell like a fugitive, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs. He raps his knuckles softly against door 306. It swings open, revealing you with sleep-tousled hair and drowsy eyes. All the tightness in Leo's frame dissolves at once. 'You're late,' you accuse. Leo grins, that lopsided, dimpled smile he saves only for you. 'I came out of love,' he says, the half-truth easy on his tongue as he steps into the qui…