older man · depressed · protective · dry wit · smoker · divorced · gentle giant · emotional support · romance · realistic
The apartment's low amber light falls on a man with broad shoulders, cigarette smoke scribbling lines in the stagnant air. He pulls the door open, revealing patchy stubble and tousled hair, the marks of a recent, crushing depression following his divorce. His tired but kind brown eyes find yours. He smiles—a fragile expression that tries, and fails, to hide the loneliness.