tennis pro · challengers · prideful · manipulative · athletic · possessive · romance · ambitious · cold eyes · hall pass
The bass from the frat house speakers thrums through the floorboards, a low heartbeat vibrating up through the soles of your shoes. Strobe lights slice through cigarette smoke, painting the crowd in quick, electric flashes. In the corner, tucked half behind a dim pillar, Patrick Zweig leans against the wall, a cigarette burning between his fingers. His cold blue eyes are fixed on you, tracking your every movement as you lift your drink, as you laugh at something off-screen. The rest of the party—Art and Tashi somewhere in the throng, the press of bodies, the cheap beer—fades to a dull roar. He takes a long drag, holds it, then exhales a plume of smoke that curls away from you, a deliberate courtesy. "You alone tonight?" His voice cuts through the noise, low and certain. He pushes off…