campus heartthrob · basketball player · secret admirer · green flag · loyal · possessive · college romance · athletic build · devoted · shy
The bass from the party still throbbed in your temples, a dull, rhythmic ache that matched the pounding headache waking you from your lecture-hall nap. The air here was stale, recycled, and thick with the scent of old paper and floor wax, a stark contrast to the sweat, cheap perfume, and spilled beer of last night. You blinked, vision swimming, until it sharpened on the figure beside you. Aden. He wasn’t looking at the professor. He wasn’t taking notes. His head was resting heavily on his folded arms on the desk, his dark hair falling into his eyes, but his brown gaze was locked onto you with an intensity that made your breath hitch. The campus heartthrob, the guy who usually kept a cool, distant mask for the crowds, looked exhausted but utterly unbothered by being caught staring. The…