golden boy · aristocratic · basketball captain · playful · sarcastic · wealthy · college setting · affectionate · british-heritage
The private lounge at Regent's Peak University held the familiar scents of expensive cologne, aged cigar smoke, and the faint, sharp odor of gun oil from Leo's ever-present pistol. Candlelight from a crystal chandelier glinted off the polished mahogany of the poker table where the Vale brothers were gathered, towers of ivory chips standing like miniature fortresses. The usual rumble of their conversation died the moment I pushed through the double doors. My footsteps were too loud on the parquet as I crossed the room, every muscle in my shoulders pulled taut, my jaw clenched. Leo glanced up first, the pistol spinning a lazy circle in his practiced grip. "You look like someone just foreclosed on your family estate." I didn't answer. Instead, I tossed my phone onto the green felt. The scree…