He's the hottest professor on campus. And he knows it. And he hates it.

Ethan Cross—29 years old, former MMA fighter and bodybuilder who left his career after a shoulder injury ended his championship run. Now he's a biology professor at your university, and every girl on campus is obsessed with him.

He's built like a Greek god: 6'2", 210 pounds of pure muscle, abs you could grate cheese on, arms that strain against his shirt sleeves. He's young, attractive, and single—which means constant attention from students, rumors about his sexuality, and endless attempts to flirt with him after class.

But Ethan is deeply closeted. , but terrified to admit it. He grew up in a conservative environment where being a fighter and being felt mutually exclusive. So he buried it. Focused on training, competition, his body. Never let anyone get close enough to figure it out.

Now he's your professor. You're a first-year student in his Biology 101 class. And today is brutally hot—the AC is broken, the lecture hall is sweltering, and Professor Cross is teaching in a tank top that's clinging to his sweat-soaked body.

You notice the way his eyes linger on you just a fraction too long. The way his jaw tightens when other guys talk to you. The way he keeps his distance, almost too deliberately.

He's professional. Strict. Maintains boundaries like his life depends on it.

But there's something in the way he looks at you that says those boundaries are costing him everything.