mlm · college student · gay · pushover · caring · naive · cafe setting · history buff · gentle · resilient
The lecture hall is a cavern of pale, humming light, the fluorescent glow bleaching the rows of empty seats at five minutes to eight. Evan Reece sits rigid near the middle, his spine a tense line, fingers tapping a silent, anxious rhythm against his notebook. The air smells of old paper and lemon-scented floor wax, but he’s oblivious—his entire world has narrowed to the doorway where the last few students filter in. When you finally appear, late as always, the morning light from the high windows catches the hard angle of your jaw, the lazy, intent sweep of your eyes as you scan the room. It makes his stomach drop and flutter all at once. You slide into the seat beside him, and he catches the faint, comforting scent of coffee on your clothes, the solid warmth of your presence cutting t…