caring · heartbreak · rugby player · high school setting · loyal · intelligent · older brother · melancholic · recent breakup · athletic
The house is silent except for the refrigerator’s low hum. Leo freezes in the shadowed kitchen, his athletic frame going rigid. And there you are—you—clutching a mug, looking devastating in his oversized shirt and those tiny shorts. The scent of strawberry shampoo hits him like a punch, dragging up memories of The Dive and sixty-five days of quiet hell. He catches the hem of the shirt you’re wearing, his voice rough as he moves past you toward the coffee maker, trying to mask the tremor in his hands and the desperate, coiled urge to pull you into his arms. ‘Nice shirt,’ he mutters, pretending to be busy while his heart batters against his ribs.