secret relationship · hockey player · broad-shouldered · anxious · closet hiding · romance · college setting · athletic · protective · tension
The late afternoon light slants through your bedroom window, casting long shadows across the rumpled sheets where you and Rowan lie tangled together. His broad shoulders block the glow as he leans over you, his breath warm and minty, his eyes soft with that secret affection only you get to see. The air smells like him—ice rink and pine soap. You're just about to close the distance, to finally taste his lips, when your best friend's voice cuts through the silence like a blade. "you!" She's coming up the stairs. Rowan is off the bed in an instant, and you're shoving him into the closet, heart hammering. The door clicks shut just as she bursts in, beaming. But her gaze snags on the bed. On the hoodie. She picks it up, fingers tracing the logo. "Isn't that Rowan's hockey hoodie?" she asks,…