MasukShare
Close Quarters
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-09-06 16:54:22
Bab terbaru
Crossing the line The Distance Between Us
Ethan’s POV The whistle cut through the air like a blade. “Cole!” Coach Reynolds’s voice boomed, snapping every head in the gym toward me. My legs felt like lead as I jogged over, towel hanging around my neck. I kept my face blank, jaw tight, even though my pulse hammered in my ears. The players shifted uneasily, waiting for the blow to land. “You’re distracted,” Coach said, his tone sharp enough to sting. “Your head’s not in the game. I don’t care what’s pulling you off, but it ends now. You want to play for me, you focus. Or you can sit your ass on the bench.” A ripple of murmurs moved through the team. My grip tightened on the towel until the fabric twisted. For a second, I wanted to argue, to tell him he was wrong, that I had it under control. But the truth was written all over me, and we both knew it. So I forced out the only words that wouldn’t make it worse. “Yes, Coach.” The whistle shrieked again, signaling drills to resume. I ran back onto the court, every muscle co
Crossing the line Whistle Blown
Ava’s POV I wasn’t supposed to be there. Coach—my father—hadn’t officially approved sideline access yet, but Maya pulled strings, and suddenly I had a prime seat on the bleachers with my notebook balanced on my knees. The gym smelled like sweat and polish, the kind of air that stuck to your lungs. Players darted up and down the court, sneakers squeaking, the ball smacking hard against the rim. But my focus kept sliding to one person. Ethan. Number twenty-three moved like the court belonged to him, sharp and certain. Every drive, every pass, every pivot felt charged. He should’ve been unstoppable. And yet—I saw it. The half-second delay. The glance that cut toward me when he thought no one noticed. And I wasn’t the only one who saw. The whistle cut through the air like a blade. “Cole!” My father’s voice boomed, snapping the whole team to attention. Ethan jogged over, towel around his neck, his face unreadable. The players shifted uneasily. I lowered my head, pretending to scr
Crossing the line Playing With Fire
Ethan’s POV The gym was the one place I could always breathe. Or at least, it used to be. The smell of rubber and varnished hardwood, the squeak of sneakers, the echo of the ball hitting the rim—this was supposed to be my sanctuary. My space. But today, even here, I couldn’t shake her. Ava. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face under that lamppost last night, tilted up toward me, her eyes bright in the glow. For one second, I’d wanted to lean in. One second, I’d forgotten every reason I had to keep my distance. Then my phone buzzed. Tyler’s name flashing across the screen. Reality slamming back into me. I couldn’t afford distractions. Not when people depended on me. Not when Coach was breathing down my neck, not when scouts were watching. And yet—here I was, standing on the court, bouncing the ball mindlessly, and all I could think about was the way her laugh had hit me like a body check. Clean, sharp, unexpected. I hadn’t heard myself laugh like that in months, maybe yea
Crossing the line Close Quarters
Ava’s POVWhen Maya announced the new media initiative at the next editorial meeting, I almost pretended to be sick just to escape. Group projects were bad enough; group projects with athletes were worse. They always ended with someone else doing the work while the “face” of the piece posed for the photo op. Still, nothing could’ve prepared me for the way her next words landed like a wrecking ball. “We’ll be pairing sports staff with athletes for a week-long feature series,” she said briskly. “Profiles that go deeper than stats. The human side. Ava, you’ll be working with Ethan Cole.” The room tilted. My stomach flipped. Across the table, one of the layout editors smirked, probably already imagining the drama. “Maya,” I started, my voice higher than usual, “maybe that’s not—” She cut me off with a raised brow. “You’re our strongest writer, Ava. And Cole’s the biggest story on campus. It makes sense.” It made sense the way walking into a fire made sense if you wanted to bur
Crossing the line Wrong Question
Ava’s POV The night after I saw Ethan with his brother clung to me like damp clothes I couldn’t peel away. Every time I closed my eyes, I didn’t just see him on the court—the fierce competitor, the golden boy everyone dissected like a stat sheet—but Ethan on the floor of that small apartment, laughing until his voice cracked, wrestling a bag of chips from the boy who looked just enough like him to erase any doubt. Tyler. His brother. I had no right to that moment, no permission to witness it, but it was carved into me all the same. And now, sitting in the newsroom the next afternoon, the memory made it impossible to focus on the cursor blinking against a blank document. “Ava?” Maya’s voice jolted me. She stood over my desk, a slim folder in one hand, her expression sharp in that way she had when she was more editor than friend. “You’re zoning out again. Everything okay?” I forced my shoulders to straighten. “Just…thinking.” “Thinking doesn’t meet deadlines.” She slid the folder
Crossing the line The Weight He Carries
Ava's POV The article was still folded in my bag, its headline burning a hole through the leather like a scar I couldn’t erase. I’d read it too many times—my own words staring back at me—but tonight they sounded like they belonged to a stranger. Ethan’s face when he’d shoved the paper at me replayed in my mind: jaw clenched, eyes blazing, his anger not the shallow kind that flares up and burns out, but the kind that comes from someplace deeper. I hadn’t meant to wound him. I’d wanted to show his strength, the way he carried burdens no one else seemed to see. But maybe I’d crossed a line. By dusk, I couldn’t stand the dorm walls anymore. Lila tried distracting me with a movie, but my thoughts kept circling back to him. Finally, I grabbed my notebook, slipped on a jacket, and walked. The campus gave way to quieter streets. Houses and apartments lined the road, lights glowing in windows like little worlds carrying on without me. I told myself I was just clearing my head, but my ste
Anda juga akan menyukai
My Bestfriend's Brother Shouldn't Know How I Taste
Demiah13474.1K DibacaHiding the Twins from Their Billionaire Father
Pixie484.8K DibacaWet Dreams (Erotica Collection)
Josie frank919.5K DibacaBURNING PASSION: MY FORBIDDEN LOVER
Excel Arthur489.8K DibacaRuin Me, Brother
Moonbunnie190 DibacaUnexpected Marriage: The night that changed my life
Erica Cristine souza cunha285 DibacaFROM WALLFLOWER TO SHOWSTOPPER
Author Wynn173 DibacaThe Billionaire's Substitute Bride
King Emerald 459 Dibaca
