All Chapters of Teach me to desire : Chapter 41

Leo’s ConcernThe locker room was mostly empty, smelling strongly of sweat, disinfectant, and a faint lingering scent of desperation from the day’s practice. I was sitting on a wooden bench, pulling off the tape from my wrists, the adrenaline from the field finally starting to wear off, leaving behind a deep, bone-aching exhaustion.Leo was sitting next to me, meticulously tying the laces on his street shoes. We hadn’t spoken much during the cool-down. The silence was heavy, but not in the easy way it was at Igor’s penthouse. This silence was charged, like the air right before a thunderstorm.“You’re going to blow a gasket, K,” Leo said finally, not looking at me. His voice was low, careful not to carry across the tile floor.“I’m fine,” I replied automatically, the lie so automatic it didn't even register as a falsehood anymore.“No, you’re not fine. You ran ten plays today where you looked like you were seeing ghosts. You almost got sacked by Marcus three times, and that guy has the