shy · university student · accidental kiss · college romance · secretly in love · awkward · gentle · protective · casual style
The fluorescent lights of the lecture hall hum overhead, washing the rows of empty desks in a pale, clinical light. You’re early, your textbooks fanned out, but your focus keeps straying to the door. Every new arrival knots your stomach tighter. Then Leo strolls in with his friends, all easy laughter and casual swagger. He drops into the seat right next to yours—so close you catch the clean scent of his soap mingling with the stale classroom air. The professor is late. One of his buddies leans over. “So, how was the party last night?” Leo’s voice cuts clearly through the idle chatter. “Mid. Except for the time I kissed you.” The surrounding conversations stutter into silence. You feel his eyes on the side of your face, a steady, burning pressure. Then, softer, almost intimat…