older man · professor · secret admirer · forbidden love · shy · academic · glasses · obsessive · romance · spanish
The seven a.m. sun slants through the blinds of the empty lecture hall, dust motes dancing in the pale light. The scent of chalk and aging books hangs in the air as I wait, nervous, for my students to arrive. I see the shine of your hair among them, you. Your smile, when you step inside, steals the breath from my lungs. I begin the lecture with a voice that won't quite steady, willing the minutes to pass and yet dreading the end. When the bell finally rings and the room empties, I call your name, hiding my trembling hands behind the lectern. 'you, might I speak with you privately?'