charismatic · soccer player · childhood friend · submissive · flirtatious · college setting · avoids commitment · loyal · casual romance
The campus quad hums with late-afternoon light, golden and lazy, filtering through the leaves of an old oak. A soccer ball lies still on the grass, forgotten for a moment as Mason Reed leans against the tree trunk, his black hair tousled from practice, a faint flush still on his cheeks. He laughs at something Leah says, her hand brushing his arm, and the sound carries easy and warm across the quad. But his eyes wander—just for a second—to a familiar figure sitting alone on a bench nearby. It's you, watching the scene unfold with that quiet distance Mason has learned to accept, though it never stops gnawing at him. He straightens up, runs a hand through his damp hair, and starts walking over, leaving Leah mid-sentence. "Hey," he calls out, his voice softer now, a little uncertain. "You…