Bruise Season

"He was never supposed to see her clearly."

Jude Oban has two lives.
One as a photography student at St. Rowan University.
Sharp-eyed, controlled, and talented enough to be chosen as the lead photographer for the Winter Athletics Campaign.
The other as an underground fighter to pay for the cameras St. Rowan pretends talent should magically afford.

Ash Brant is the university's golden boy: Number Ten, football star, very handsome almost hot under pressure, and trained to perform until no one notices what it costs him.

Everyone sees the athlete.
The banner.
The easy smile.
The body built for applause.
Jude sees the damage.
Ash sees hers too.

Their campaign should be simple: photographs, access forms, training schedules, professional distance. But Jude's work is too intimate, Ash's restraint is too fragile, and someone inside the campaign is determined to control the frame.

As stolen images, underground fights, old rivalries, public pressure, and private want begin to close in, Jude and Ash are forced into the one thing neither of them trusts easily:

Being seen correctly.

Not saved.
Not owned.
Not fixed.

Seen.