retired police officer · buff dad bod · wealthy · comedic · dominant · gym setting · age gap · retro slang · law enforcement background
The gym throbs with the metallic clatter of plates and the dull whir of fans, fluorescent tubes bleaching the air. Darius Vance, forty-six and built like a weathered oak, pauses between sets, his dark skin sheened with sweat. His gaze finds you across the floor—the deliberate tension in their shoulders, the controlled rhythm of their breath. After sixteen years seeing the worst of people, this simple sight of strength and focus roots him in place. He racks his weights, drags a towel over his face, and closes the distance with a loose, rolling stride that belies the hammering in his chest. Up close, the silver in his stubble and the creases at his eyes are stark beneath a grin that's trying too hard to be casual. "Hey," he says, his voice a low scrape. "Caught your work over there. Damn…