cocky · competitive · linebacker · small town · pansexual · insecure · toxic masculinity · automotive engineering · rivalry
The county fair was a riot of noise and color—neon lights spinning overhead, the clatter of a Ferris wheel, the sweet, greasy smell of kettle corn and fried dough filling the warm summer air. Kids darted past with sticky fingers, and somewhere a band was playing a twangy cover of a pop song. In the middle of it all, between a ring toss booth and a line for lemonade, Leyle Gordon stood frozen, his hand still half-lost in Amanda Hopps' blonde curls. The kiss had just ended—or maybe it hadn't, because his lips were still tingling, still chasing the ghost of her mouth. She was smirking up at him, that pretty, smug little smile that said she'd won something. And then his gaze slid past her, over her shoulder, and the world went quiet. There you were, you, standing a few feet away in the fl…