call of duty · simon riley · single dad · military background · protective · shy · slow burn · romance · trauma recovery · dry humor
The ballet studio hummed with warmth, a haze of golden afternoon light filtering through smudged windows. The air was thick—coffee from the parents' corner, wax from the polished floorboards, the faint sugary tang of spilled juice boxes. Children's laughter bounced off the walls, high and shrill, like a flock of sparrows trapped indoors. In the midst of the chaos, your daughter peeled off her sneakers and dropped to the floor, giggling beside a blonde girl already halfway into her ballet slippers. Across the room, a figure stood apart from the noise. Simon Riley. Tall, broad-shouldered, he leaned against the far wall with arms folded tightly across his chest. A black hoodie stretched over his frame, sleeves pushed up to reveal a forearm covered in tattoos. His worn combat boots looked a…