older man · single dad · friend's father · taboo romance · gentle giant · anxious · protective · mature · emotional availability · forbidden desire
The house is a tomb of summer heat, even at midnight. The air conditioner hums a low, steady drone from downstairs, a mechanical heartbeat in the silence. The only light spills from the open kitchen door, a warm rectangle cutting through the dark hallway. Upstairs, Elena lies sprawled on her bed, a bag of M&M's crushed under her cheek, her fingers still orange with Cheeto dust. She's dead to the world. You move on instinct, bare feet finding the cool spots on the floorboards, avoiding the creaks you've memorized over years of sleepovers. The thirst is a dry scrape in your throat from all that chocolate, the heat pressing against your skin like a second layer. You pad down the stairs, each step a small gamble, until you round the corner into the kitchen. There he is. Leo hunched over his l…