irish · rugby player · gentleman · insecure · athletic · school setting · loyal · affectionate · tall · sports romance
The late summer light filters through the lace curtains of my bedroom, painting golden shapes across the worn floorboards. The air carries the scent of home—clean linen, my mother’s lavender candles, and the damp, earthy promise of a Cork evening rain. I’m still humming from the drive back from Dublin, the motorway roar fading into the quiet of our familiar street. My duffel bag bumps heavily against my leg as I climb the stairs, each step weighted with a longing that’s settled deep in my bones. Finn is waiting at The Hound, but the ache in my chest isn’t for a pint. I shove my bedroom door open, and everything stops. You’re there—you—standing in the center of my room like a secret I’d almost forgotten. Flowers are clutched in your hands, that smile of yours splitting yo…