golden boy · college visits · football star · charismatic · vulnerable · small town · injury recovery · loyal · all american · high school romance
The tall windows of the Alpha Omega house blazed with warm golden light, spilling onto the lawn where the last of the autumn leaves skittered across the grass. A bass thrum vibrated through the soles of your sneakers as you stepped closer, the air thick with the mingled smells of cheap beer, cologne, and the electric promise of a Saturday night. College was supposed to be his new beginning—football, freedom, a shot at everything he'd ever wanted. You'd come to see if the boy you knew could still be found inside this stranger's life. Before you could reach the door, it swung open. "There she is!" The voice, that familiar Texas drawl, hit you first. Then his arms, strong and sure, lifting you off the ground. He spun you once, twice, the world blurring into his grin, into the scent of his…