Dear Author, I won the tournament, he came in second… I didn’t even compete to win, but once he was my final opponent, I had to give all I have in me, to prove to him I’m worthy. I always admired him from afar, but dreamed about him up close and this tournament was my chance to get near him. All I ever wanted was for him to get to know me and maybe, just maybe, something could grow? But I guess I blew it already, given the dirty looks he sends me… Photo Description: The photo is of a man in his early twenties. Naked from the waist up, his dark hair is damp and tangled and his olive skin mud-splattered. With dark, dark eyes, perfect full lips and a defined, smooth chest, he is truly beautiful—but there is something haunting about him. His brooding gaze, trained on something just behind the photographer, shows determination… and maybe just a little bit of sorrow. This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.