Prologue
The evening air carried the scent of damp grass and distant flowers, the park bathed in the dying glow of the sun.
It was quiet here.
Just the rustle of leaves, the occasional bark of a distant dog, and the rhythmic pound of sneakers against pavement.
Adrian West wasn’t supposed to be here.
Or rather, he had no reason to be. College will start in two days, and he should have been at home, doing something remotely productive.
But instead, he sat on a park bench, legs stretched out, fingers tapping absently against his phone screen.
Not that he was paying attention to it.
No
Adrian was here for him.
At the pull-up bars, the man moved with effortless control, muscles flexing under the dimming light.
Strength. Focus. Discipline.
It was carved into every inch of his body.
Sweat clung to his skin, making his toned arms glisten, every movement precise and powerful.
Adrian should have looked away.
Should have been embarrassed that he’d come here for a third evening just to watch.
But Adrian West had always been a little reckless.
A little indulgent.
And right now, Adrian wanted to watch.
He didn’t know the man’s name, had never been close enough to hear his voice.
But that didn’t stop his mind from wandering.
Imagining what those hands would feel like, how firm that body would be pressed against him.
He’d never approach.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come back.
Two days later.
In the bustling cafeteria of his new college, Adrian stood in line, boredly scrolling his phone.
Until his gaze lifted.
And everything inside him stilled.
The man.
Here.
Not in a tank top, not sweating through pull-ups.
But dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and black trousers, sleeves rolled up just enough to tease the same forearms Adrian had been staring at for days.
He stood at the counter, waiting for his coffee, oblivious to the way Adrian’s pulse had just shot straight through the roof.
Why the hell is he here?
That question haunted Adrian through the afternoon.
Until, in the second-to-last class of the day, the answer knocked the breath from his lungs.
The door opened.
The Answer for his question came as the man walked in.
Confident steps. Sharp, unreadable gaze.
A stack of books in his hands and sat those on the desk.
And then his voice.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Professor Nathaniel Hayes, and I’ll be your physics instructor for the semester.”
Adrian’s breath caught.
The man from the park.
His professor.
Adrian West was so screwed.
