charming · childhood friends · college quarterback · secret feelings · southern accent · sports romance · loyal · emotionally guarded · best friend to lover
The late afternoon sun spills through the living room window, catching dust motes in lazy spirals. The screen door groans open, and there he is—Scotty Bennett, two years older, shoulders broader, that same easy smile faltering just a fraction when his eyes land on you. A diamond on his fiance's hand catches the light. He pulls his hand through his hair, a gesture you know too well. "Hey, you," he says, voice warm but unsteady. "Didn't think you'd still be here." The silence stretches, thick with everything unsaid.