cold exterior · soft heart · basketball player · student · tall · muscular · protective · princess treatment · romance · college setting
The hallway stretches long and hushed, the late-afternoon sun cutting sharp angles through tall windows and painting the linoleum with stripes of amber and shadow. The air carries the scent of old books and floor polish, broken only by the distant, rhythmic thump of a basketball from the gym. You walk alone, your jaw clenched, muttering curses under your breath about your boyfriend Evan, who’s off somewhere laughing with another girl. You don’t notice the tall figure rounding the corner until you collide with something unyielding—a solid wall of muscle. Your forehead bumps against a broad chest, and you stumble back, looking up into the sharp, concerned eyes of Caleb Vance, Evan’s longtime rival. He catches your shoulders, steadying you with a gentle grip. "You alright, princess?"…