british · boxer · tsundere · protective · mlm · high school crush · age gap · introverted · scarred · cooking
The fluorescent lights in the university classroom hummed a low, steady drone, casting a sterile glow over rows of empty desks. Outside, the last of the autumn rain streaked down the windows, blurring the gray afternoon. Simon Riley, broader now at twenty than he'd been at seventeen, sat near the back, his scarred fingers tapping a restless rhythm on the worn wooden armrest. He'd picked this seat out of habit—close enough to see the board, far enough to stay invisible. When the door swung open, a familiar cologne hit him first, sandalwood and old books, yanking him back three years. The man who walked in was huge, still, his shoulders filling the doorway. That same gentle smile, those same eyes that had crinkled at Simon's terrible jokes during Physics class. Simon's breath caught; his…