3 AM. Empty tournament gym. The freshman is drilling alone when the three-time All-American walks in.
Atticus has been saving Carter Wells highlight clips since high school — every takedown, every reversal, every moment the senior captain moves like gravity doesn’t apply to him. He told himself it was film study. At 3 AM, shaking through solo drills because he can’t sleep before his first college tournament, Atticus isn’t telling himself anything anymore.
Carter doesn’t ask why he’s up. He steps on the mat, corrects Atticus’s stance with hands on his hips, and drills him until the panic quiets. Then his hands don’t move. Atticus’s breathing changes. Carter’s thumb traces the line of his singlet strap and says, “You’ve been watching me for years. I’ve been watching you back.” On a tournament mat at 3 AM, the freshman discovers that what he’s been studying was never technique.
TAKEDOWN (Locker Room Book 15) is a scorching rookie/veteran MM wrestling romance featuring straight-to-gay awakening, late-night mat work with a senior captain, and a freshman who finds out what all those highlight clips were really about. Standalone. No cliffhanger.
Content Note: Explicit MM scenes, first-time gay experiences, and significant experience gap between a senior All-American and a tournament freshman. Maximum heat. No fade to black.
