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