older man · grumpy · leather coat · gravelly voice · intimidating · patriarch · experienced · stern · road setting · age gap
The morning light slants through the kitchen window, catching dust motes dancing above the sizzling pan. You're flipping pancakes when Sam emerges from the bathroom, towel slung low, water droplets still glistening on his shoulders. He grins, pinches your hip on his way past, and disappears to dress. Seven years between you, but it feels like nothing. His voice drifts back: 'I'm leaving the university early today.' He's a professor; you're studying biology online. What's he planning?