The Genius Likes Me, Not the School Belle

Synopsis

Outside the window, the night pulsed with flashing neon, weaving a tapestry of hedonistic glitz. Through the glass, colorful beams sliced into the dim room, bathing the couple who hadn't bothered to turn on the lamps in a hazy, seductive glow. From the doorway, a man and a woman stumbled in, entangled in each other in the foyer. Their breaths were hot and urgent, palms grazing every inch of skin, leaving scorching trails in their wake until they collapsed onto the lone, large bed. There, their bodies pressed together, leaving no space between them. They weren't a couple, yet they were crossing lines they shouldn't, and it was hardly the first time. "Why the hell doesn't she like me?" Ryan Carter muttered. As the haze of hormones dissipated, a faint, metallic smell of semen lingered in the air. He leaned back against the headboard, arms crossed. One long leg disappeared into the soft duvet, his toes idly swinging. His body, lax and replete with post-coital satisfaction, harbored a mind that couldn't help but complain. "I give her designer clothes, and she calls me a pervert. I offer to give her a ride home, and she calls me a psycho. "Even that public confession yesterday? She ran off like a ghost was chasing her. Didn't even look back." He turned to the woman beside him. "Chloe, you're her roommate. Tell me, on what grounds does she not like me?" This wasn't the first time Ryan had grumbled post-coitum. Chloe Grant completely ignored him, burying her head in her phone to grind through practice problems. The residual warmth hadn't faded from her skin, and her slightly tipsy brain found the state perfect for solving equations. Just as Ryan's first comment after sex was always about his failure to woo the campus belle, Chloe's immediate reaction was invariably to study.