Forever Crushed

Long- term crushes are hard...

Gwen Roman has spent most of her life being overlooked. It never really bothered her all that much. Until she sees Ash Waylen, the guy she's had a crush on since the tenth grade. The moment he acknowledges her presence and says her name, that damn crush weaves its way back into her heart. So much for a stellar GPA this semester.
After his girlfriend shattered his trust and broke his heart, Ash Waylen plans to spend his junior year of college nursing his wounds and avoiding the opposite sex. The last thing he expects is to run into Gwen Roman and have her tugging on heartstrings he thought his ex-girlfriend took when he broke up with her.
Gwen was always the shy girl who followed Chrissy and Zack Willows around in high school, her head always buried in a book. She never caught his attention before, but this time, it's different.
In an act of self-preservation, Ash averts his gaze knowing only trouble will follow him if he pursues the one thing he wants.
While Ash tries to resist temptation, Gwen might just throw caution to the wind and go after what she wants for the first time in her life.
Tropes:
Fall Vibes
Introvert x Extrovert
College Romance
Women in STEM
Second Chance/Long-term Crush
Spicy Scenes
Male Mental Health Rep
Witty Side-characters
Chaotic Cat
Found Family
Stand-alone Series
Trigger Warnings: Gaslighting, love bombing, toxic parents, mental abuse, cheating, depression, anxiety.