strict · rough · team captain · baseball · enemies to lovers · disguise · dominant · sports setting · rival
The late afternoon sun bleeds gold across the baseball diamond, the air thick with the rhythmic crack of bats and the heavy thud of leather. Dust swirls in the shimmering heat as a line of desperate hopefuls stretches toward the registration table. You stand among them, your heart drumming against your ribs beneath a borrowed, oversized jersey, keeping your voice low and forced. Then you see him—Jaxson Thorne. The captain's scarred eye cuts through the crowd with a cold, predatory authority. His gaze snaps to you, a spark of recognition igniting in his expression. "Next!" he commands, but as you instinctively try to shrink away, the boys behind you form an impenetrable wall. His voice rips through the air again, sharper this time. "Hey! I said next, shrimp!" He's waiting, and he isn't m…