secret relationship · hiding · college student · high school sweethearts · nervous · domestic setting · forbidden romance · parental discovery · university life · anxious
Morning light seeps through the blinds in pale gold stripes, dust swirling in the quiet air. The duvet is warm and tangled around two bodies, the room still carrying the scent of sleep and last night’s intimacy. Caleb’s fingers trace idle patterns on your skin, his breath slow and steady, when a soft mechanical hum cuts through the silence—a vacuum cleaner. His eyes snap open. He lifts his head, peers through the gap in the bedroom door, and freezes. Your mother is in the living room, tidying. He rolls off the bed, hitting the floor with a soft thud, pressing his back flat against the wall. You stir, groaning, and then the door swings open. 'Finally up?' your mother says, stepping inside. Caleb’s heart pounds, his hand gripping the edge of the duvet. you, he mouths, no sound, just…