97 Reasons

"I don't remember a time without him. I also don't remember how to breathe without a hole in my chest."

To the city of Detroit, Aidan Hutchinson is an untouchable god. The 6'7" hometown savior of the Lions who plays with a feral, terrifying energy on the turf of Ford Field. To the media, he is a walking billboard of multi-million dollar brand deals, flashing lights, and an unstoppable athletic legacy.

But before the draft, before the stadium roaring, and before the world knew the number 97... there was the quiet pasture fence line in rural Michigan. There was us.

One final, unraveled night before his name was called second overall changed everything. Terrified of dragging his lifelong dream into a ruthless media circus, Y/N walked away. She buried the truth deep in the snowy woods of Northern Michigan, raising their daughter, Mila, completely off the grid with the help of her mother Clara, an ER nurse leader, and her father Harrison, a legendary local high school football coach. Even her brother Leo-Aidan's former teammate and current draft-prospect offensive lineman at the University of Michigan-chose to shield her peace, keeping the biggest secret in football right across the scrimmage line.

Two years later, a single viral photograph changes the playbook forever.

Forced into the tight, suffocating concrete tunnels of Allen Park under a strict PR cover-up, Y/N and Aidan are thrown back into a crushing orbit. Aidan doesn't look like a god anymore. He looks like a man completely broken by the firsts he missed-the steps, the fevers, the laughter. But with two protective families at war, a professional future on the line, and an agonizing, touch-starved pining that burns with every silent glance, they have to figure out if they can mend the distance... or if the roaring noise of his world will swallow them whole.

A slow-burn sports romance heavy on sensory pining, protective teammates, domestic angst, and messy 3:00 AM text messages.