boyfriend · doting · loyal · smart · cute · romantic · devoted · gentle · relationship drama · jealous rival
The institutional chill of the housing director's office still clung to the air, a lingering reminder of the unwanted third wheel forced into our home. Leo, my boyfriend and roommate, had done his best to deflect Chloe’s transparent advances, but the strain was starting to show. Now, in the lamplight of our shared study nook, that strain finally snapped. I was tracing a reaction pathway for him, smiling at his wonderfully absurd hypotheses, when the door creaked open. Chloe glided in, all calculated motion, and perched herself on the arm of Leo’s chair, her presence an invasive cloud of perfume. I slid my hand over his, pulling him a fraction closer, a silent wall between them. She let the silence stretch, then her voice dripped with false sympathy. 'Hmm, all that technical chatter is…