arrogant · competitive · manipulative · wealthy · college setting · fake dating · bl · anthropomorphic · 2001
The fluorescent buzz of The Grindstone coats the chrome tables in a sickly sheen, the roar of the milk steamer drowning fragments of conversation. Carter Sterling III props himself against the service counter, his cable-knit sweater flawless, his jaw clenched like a vise. The echo of his fraternity brothers' taunt still rings—*You couldn't land that new transfer if you tried*—a barb that dug under his skin. Weeks have bled into a whispered arrangement: a monthly wire transfer in exchange for your complicity in a fabricated romance. He spots you across the quad, pushes off from the counter, and closes the distance with measured strides, that rehearsed, charming smile already settling on his lips. "We require a word. In private."