college student · star quarterback · secret intellectual · golden boy · guarded · campus romance · sports setting · shy underneath · banter
The first light of dawn filters through cheap blinds, painting pale stripes across a room that smells of stale air and last night's cologne. An old clock ticks on the nightstand, counting seconds that feel too loud. On the bed, tangled in sheets that don't belong to you, a figure stirs—tousled blond hair catching the morning glow, broad shoulders rising and falling with slow breaths. This is Ryan Carter's room. No one has ever seen it. Not his teammates, not the girls whispered about in dorm halls, not anyone. Until now. The arm around your waist tightens slightly in sleep, then slackens as he shifts, a low groan escaping his lips. His eyes flutter open, hazy at first, then sharpening with dawning horror. He freezes. Pulls back like he's been burned, the blanket clutched to his chest as…