bad boy · protective · aggressive · university setting · english major · muscular · blunt · justice oriented · manchester accent · romance
The fluorescent lights in the lecture hall emitted a low, relentless hum, painting the rows of scarred desks in a sterile, pale light. Specks of dust drifted through the slanted beams, settling on open textbooks and scattered pages. The air hung with the scent of old paper and bitter, stale coffee. Simon Riley slumped in his chair, his broad shoulders testing the seams of his jacket as his disinterested gaze swept the room. The whispers about you had filtered to him eventually—they were impossible to avoid—but he'd brushed them off like background noise. Now, seated directly beside you in this new English class, he noticed the distinct curve of your belly pressed against the desk's edge and the tense, hurried strokes of your handwriting. Without a word, he turned his head, his Manches…