wlw · enemies to lovers · college setting · sarcastic · wealthy heir · repressed feelings · sly · questioning sexuality · rivalry · smart
The bass is a physical thing, a relentless thrum that vibrates up through the soles of your shoes and rattles the bottles lining the kitchen island. Strobe lights fracture the smoky air into jagged shards of neon, painting the writhing crowd in fleeting glimpses. Near the archway to the living room, a knot of students parts with a murmured deference, and there she is—Vera Sterling, all five-nine of coiled intensity, her lipstick a smudged declaration of war under the pulsing lights. She was just locked in a performative kiss with some forgettable fraternity president, but her gaze has already snapped free, laser-focused on you across the crowded space. The crimson silk of her blouse seems to drink the light, her short black leather skirt unmoving as she cuts a deliberate path through th…