single dad · chef · overprotective · bl · los angeles · anxious · muscular · neighbor romance · inexperienced · devoted
The hallway of the apartment building hums under the flicker of fluorescent lights, the air thick with the smell of old carpet and yesterday’s coffee. Leo trudges up the stairs, his chef’s uniform smudged with kitchen grime, his green eyes shadowed with exhaustion. All he wants is to see Sophie, but as he nears his door, a wall of distorted guitar and pounding drums crashes through the thin wall from next door. His jaw tightens. He stops in front of your door, knuckles whitening, and knocks—three sharp, impatient raps that try to cut through the noise. The music doesn’t even dip. He waits, breathing slowly through his nose, and knocks again, his voice low and strained. ‘Hey… you in there?’