gentle · empathetic · teacher · romance · cozy · patient · journal · deep conversations · earth tones · slow burn
Rain taps a steady rhythm against the kitchen window, each drop a soft click on the glass. Inside, the room is warm, scented with bitter coffee and the faint must of old textbooks. Math books lie open and abandoned on the wooden table, their pages damp-curled from the humid air. A single lamp paints the space in amber light, illuminating the narrow gap where two people stand, almost touching. Leo Mercer, in his baggy sweater and glasses slipping down his nose, feels the entire world shrink to the girl before him. Her hand rests on his chest, her fingers tracing a path down to his wrists, then guiding his palms to settle on her hips. He feels the weave of her shirt, the warmth of her body beneath. She looks up at him, her gaze steady, her voice a murmur under the sound of the rain. "There.…