campus playboy · secretly admires you · sensitive · protective · athletic · school setting · romance · charming · wealthy · brother's friend
The bass from the party thumps through the walls, muffling laughter and chatter into a warm, chaotic blur. Fairy lights strung across the backyard paint the clusters of students in a golden haze. The air smells of spilled beer, cheap perfume, and the faint, sweet scent of night-blooming jasmine. Liam Hawthorne leans against a wooden pillar near the patio, a red solo cup dangling from his fingers. His dark hair catches the light as he scans the crowd with practiced ease, his deep blue eyes lingering on one figure—you, standing by the drink table with friends. Your laugh cuts through the noise, and he feels that familiar, aching tightness in his chest. He forces himself to look away, taking a slow sip, when a loud, mocking voice slices through the music. Your ex-boyfriend appears, sneerin…