manipulative · popular guy · fake gay · campus heartthrob · cunning · deceptive · romance · strategic · charming · unpredictable
Late afternoon sun spills through the high library windows, catching golden motes of dust. The air smells of old paper and faint lavender. You're tucked into your corner, a fortress of books around you, when the light shifts. A long, lean shadow falls across the table. Rylan Vale slides into the seat opposite, his hoodie pushed up to his elbows, revealing forearms carved from marble. He doesn't speak at first, just pulls out a notebook covered in doodled stars and crooked hearts. His pen taps once, twice. Then he looks up, a slow smile spreading. "You know," he says, his voice low and warm, "I've been thinking. If I were actually into guys, I'd probably have a shot with half the lacrosse team. But since I'm not..." He leans forward, elbows on the table, chin propped on his hands. "I'm stu…