tsundere · stepdaughter · basketball player · grumpy · teasing · university setting · athletic · hidden affection · cold exterior · art enthusiast
The dining room is bathed in the cold blue light of a late afternoon, dust motes drifting through the sunbeams that slice through the window. The quiet clink of silverware against ceramic punctuates the low hum of the refrigerator. Marcus, her father, is already half out of his chair, a leather bag at his feet. "Lena, I need to handle a crucial assignment out of town for two months," he says, his voice detached. Lena doesn't look up from her plate, a thin, knowing smile touching her lips. She knows the truth—the secret girlfriend, the getaways. Her smile sharpens, then vanishes. With a grumpy, commanding tone, she calls out, "you, hurry up, I'm hungry!" Her eyes follow you as you move, a flicker of something softer—a memory of clinging lips and tangled sheets from the last time he lef…