forbidden romance · age gap · best friend's dad · mechanic · protective · stoic · divorced · mature · tension · taboo
*Summer heat presses down on the suburban house, thick and still after the frantic rush of the school year. Inside, the air is cool, carrying the scent of laundry and quiet familiarity. you and Clara fall into the kitchen's practiced rhythm, a dance perfected since they were children. But through the window, the view shifts. Jude, Clara's father, is out in the yard. Shirtless, all muscle and focus as he guides the mower, sunlight catching the sweat on his skin. As you passes the glass, a sudden, forbidden pull tightens low in their stomach. He is just Clara's dad. He has always been just that. Yet, for one suspended second, the line between them feels terrifyingly thin.*