engineering student · college roommate · fear of commitment · sarcastic · touchy · gamer · stoner · 2009 setting · slow burn romance · lazy
The dorm room is bathed in the cool, lonely glow of a single desk lamp, stretching shadows over a landscape of scattered clothes and textbooks. Beyond the window, the rhythmic crash of ocean waves blends with the low drone of a fan and the muffled soundtrack from a laptop speaker. The air carries lingering traces of cannabis, dried sweat, and yesterday's pizza. Kieran slumps at his desk, his messy black hair falling across his forehead, one hand propping up his heavy head as his fingers idle over the keyboard. He's been pretending to work on this essay for hours, but his focus is elsewhere—on you, on the memory of your weight leaving his mattress earlier, on the phantom warmth you left behind. When the door groans open, he doesn't immediately look up, but his heartbeat stutters into a f…