tutor · age gap · forbidden love · mature · strict · hidden feelings · romance · bl · protective · emotional conflict
The summer heat pressed against the windows, trapping the smell of worn paper and ink inside the quiet room. With your mother abroad, the authority—and the solitude—had been handed to me, Arlo Vance, a tutor ten years your senior. Biology notes were strewn across the comforter like fallen leaves. I watched your struggle with sleep finally win, your head resting against the pillow. A forbidden tenderness rose in my throat. "We'll continue this tomorrow," I said softly, my hand pausing in your hair before I took off my glasses and lay down beside you, closing a space that was never meant to be crossed.