iot
low and steady through the closed door while I remained in the living room trying not to look at my phone. Every time it buzzed, my shoulders locked up. Most o
dday. He looked tired around the eyes but still focused,
to go out
from the cou
ough people to see us togeth
nt to be se
. Do it
ething I already knew was coming. "
es
left were running low. My skin felt too sensitive, every brush of fabric sharper th
my head. Sebastian's car was already waiting at the curb. He drove us to a small café about fifteen minutes away, nothing fancy, not empty either
ed coffee for both of us without asking. I didn't correct him.
s the
ate
kno
ds around the cup just to have something solid to hold onto. T
rim of his own cup. "Your su
't a qu
manag
not. I c
ward the street.
wh
eady know everyth
, "I can smell it. That's not the same
im made the low heat under my skin worse instead of better, like my body still
is phone and angled it slightly towa
" he said und
aking a
ing here is better than ten ru
hands steady around the cup. The man eventually
slightly. "We need to tal
about
e the league contacts. You don't spe
e from the league reaches out
hey don't
riage registration.
in of the table. "This s
. The protection is real. The
"What do you want
ned his coffee cup slowly between his hand
t want them to take your career. I know my body already decided s
not good
the
ce made it harder to a
hen we stood to leave, the same man
alculated, just enough for anyone paying attention. The contact lasted only a secon
't touch me like that ag
erst
y clothes and the real suppressants. I checked everything carefully- labels, seals, the familiar packaging- before taking a fr
nter without talking much. The tension never fully left the room; it j
ith my phone, another message cam
file, pretty boy. The commi
ead it once, then set his own
ng desperate.
that u
d tracking the numbers. One of them leads back to a
. "You're inves
es
pretending to
es
in my chest: the broken stick, the locker room, the messages, the marriage registrat
ched me for a
wed to be an
m an
ry. It's better
he same man who had caught the scent I spent years burying, the same man who now sat
n't trust y
kno
ill don't
w that
eed this
ce. "Then it
s evening deepened. Inside, the quiet felt heavier th
nly knew that for the first time in six years, the secr
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