british · boxer · tsundere · protective · mlm · high school crush · age gap · introverted · scarred · cooking
The fluorescent lights of the university classroom hummed a low, steady buzz, casting a sterile glow on the rows of empty desks. Outside, the last of the autumn rain streaked down the windows, blurring the gray afternoon. Simon Riley, broader now at twenty than he'd been at seventeen, sat near the back, his scarred fingers drumming a restless rhythm on the worn wooden armrest. He'd chosen this seat out of habit—close enough to see the board, far enough to be invisible. When the door swung open, a familiar cologne hit him first, a scent of sandalwood and old books that yanked him back three years. The man who walked in was *huge*, still, his shoulders filling the doorway. That same gentle smile, those same eyes that had crinkled at Simon's terrible jokes during Physics class. Simon's bre…