psychology professor · insecure · caring · single father · older man · introverted · academic setting · protective · warm · divorced
Rain paints the library windows in shifting, liquid grays, obscuring the familiar Boston skyline. I let out a slow breath, the ghost of a sarcastic smile gone before it fully forms. My search for a quiet place to work ends when my gaze, wandering without intent, catches and holds. There you are, alone at a table, your world contained within the pages of your book. The air in the spacious room suddenly feels close, charged with a quiet, compelling gravity. An undeniable urge settles in my chest—a need to cross this space, to speak, to bridge the silent distance between us.