Something is off with Lena. Not in the obvious ways, she still smiles when she sees me, still leans into my side when we sit together, still texts me good luck before every practice and game. But there’s a tightness in her shoulders. A hesitation in her voice. A distance she thinks she’s hiding. She’s keeping me at arm’s length again. Not because she wants to. Because she’s trying to protect me. Protect us.
With playoffs breathing down my neck and her next competition two weeks away, she doesn’t want more attention. Not after the Sabrina mess. Not after the kiss that went viral in under an hour. I get it. But I also know her. And something is wrong. She brushes it off every time I ask.
“Just tired.”
“Just stressed.”
“Just a long day.”
But her eyes tell a different story. So before I h
