That dinner seemed to have bought our
roommates‘ silence. After that, whenever they
witnessed any PDA between Jason and me,
く
they pretended not to notice. Occasionally,
Liam would sigh dramatically, “Some
people… flaunting their love like it’s nobody’s
business!” Mike would chime in, “Yeah, do
you really have to cuddle during movie night?”
I tried to sit up, but Jason held me close.
“Yes, we do. I need to cuddle my boyfriend to
enjoy the movie.” Liam and Mike exchanged
sarcastic glances. Jason smirked, then
dropped another bombshell. “I saw you two
coming out of the shower together yesterday.
Care to explain?” Liam and Mike went silent.
Mike blushed furiously. Liam stammered, “H-
he was… just handing me a towel! It’s not a
big deal.” I eyed them suspiciously.
Something seemed off. Jason couldn’t stop
grinning.
My high school deskmate, Alex, was coming
to our university for a basketball game and
wanted to nang out. Unaware of my new
relationship status, Alex greeted me with a
hug, chattering excitedly about high school.
Jason glared at his arm around my shoulders,
his displeasure evident. Alex, biting into a chili
pepper, instinctively grabbed my unfinished
milk and chugged it down. We’d shared food
and drinks all the time in high school, but
now… I felt Jason’s icy glare. Jason cleared
his throat. “Ethan, come back to the dorm
with me after this.” Boyfriend’s orders. I
couldn’t refuse. I told Alex to wait downstairs;
I needed to grab something from my room.
The second we got back to the dorm, Jason
pinned me against the closet door and kissed
me, hard. It stung a little, but I didn’t pull
away. I ran my hand over his neck, trying to
soothe him. “Why didn’t you tell him about
us?” he asked, his voice tight. “I’ll tell him
later.” “You better,” he grumbled, clearly not
<
happy about Alex’s familiarity with me. I went
back downstairs to find Alex. I had my
coming–out speech all planned, but Alex beat
me to it. “Dude, what happened to your lip?”
“Oh, my boyfriend bit me.” “Huh?” Alex
looked confused. “You just came out of the
guys‘ dorm. How did your boyfriend get in
there?” “My boyfriend is a guy. The one we
just had dinner with.” “Huh?” He looked even
more confused. I recounted the story of our
online encounter and how Jason and I ended
up together. Alex was speechless. “Holy crap!
That’s how you ranked up so fast! You
snagged a pro! And you lied and told me you
did it yourself!” I chuckled nervously. After the
initial shock wore off, Alex grabbed his phone.
“Crap, what if the girl I’m talking to online is
also a guy? I gotta call her.” He tried calling
her three times. She declined each one,
claiming it wasn’t a good time. He looked at
me, his eyes wide with dawning horror. Alex
started pacing frantically, his face pale. He
suddenly felt very vulnerable. “What am I
going to do if she’s a catfish?! I spent so
much money on her!” I watched his
meltdown, thinking about Jason. Back in high
school, we’d mostly chatted online. My use of
emojis and feminine language had convinced
him I was a girl. If he’d known the truth then,
would he have reacted the same way?
Probably. He might have even shown up at my
school with a baseball bat.
Alex and I stayed out late, catching up. We
even watched a movie. Near the end, I got a
call from Jason. I declined it since I was in the
theater. Jason: ??? Jason: What’s the deal?
Not answering my calls, staying out this late.
What are you up to? Jason: Ethan, don’t
make me come looking for you. Me: I’m at the
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movies. Be back soon. Jason: You’d better be
back in the dorm in half an hour, or you’ll be
sorry. Me: Or what? He started typing. A long
pause, then: Jason: I brushed up on my
history today. Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han…
Just wait for the Northern Dynasties. I stared
at the message, completely baffled. “Still chatting? The killer is about to be revealed!” Alex peeked at my phone and snickered. “You gay guys are so cryptic!” I frowned, even
more confused.
…
I got back to the dorm
late. It was the weekend, so there wasn’t a
curfew. The room was dark, everyone asleep.
I quietly showered and climbed into bed, only
to find someone already there. Before I could
react, a hand grabbed me. Jason pulled me
into a hug, his voice muffled against my hair.
“Where were you? I’ve been in a bad mood all
day. Make it up to me.” “Don’t be mad. I
already told Alex about us.” His grip loosened
P
slightly. “By the way, what did you mean
about the dynasties?” He chuckled, a
mischievous glint in his eyes. “Want to know?
Kiss me.” I did, and he deepened the kiss, his
hand tangling in my hair. He never did tell me
what it meant that night. Much later, I finally
found out. … (End of main story)
Bonus Chapter: Jason’s POV
My name is Jason. In high school, I fell for a
girl online. She was sweet, always listened to
me during games, and had a gentle way of
speaking. I started thinking about meeting
her, maybe confessing my feelings after
graduation. Then, she deleted me. I was
clueless. What had I done wrong? I moped for
a week, then worked up the courage to add
her again. No response. My friends were
right. Online relationships were a joke. I was
heartbroken for a year On my first day of
college, the guy across from me felt oddly
familiar. Ethan. He was nice, and… pretty.
Like, really pretty. He was prettier than most
girls, and I found myself constantly looking at
him. He’d been really nice to me lately, even
anticipating my preferences. Were all
roommates like this? Then, one night, I saw
his phone. He was my “first love.” What. The.
Hell. I was stunned. He’d been playing me this
whole time! He must have recognized me, but
he never said anything. What a liar! I chewed
him out. But after I calmed down, a strange
sense of excitement bubbled up. Maybe
having my online crush be Ethan wasn’t so
bad. The only difference was… his gender.
And it was my fault for assuming he was a
girl in the first place. I’d never asked, and
he’d never corrected me. I realized I was
making excuses for him. I started observing
him more closely. He was avoiding me,
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spending more time with that anime club
president. Seeing him in that maid outfit…
wow. He was exactly how I’d pictured my
online crush! He was captivating, attracting
both guys and girls, and I hated it. I wanted to
be nice to him, but the words always came
out sarcastic. I hated myself for it. He didn’t
come on our fall break trip, and I was
distracted the whole time. Then we ran into
him at the hot springs. With the club
president, of course. Ethan in that swimsuit…
his collarbone, his legs… I felt my throat go
dry. He even bumped into me, his hand
brushing against my… Well, that was almost
embarrassing. At dinner, he kept drinking, his
face flushed, laughing with those law
students. Such a lightweight. I started
deliberately losing at the game, taking shots
for him. For a while, I thought we were getting
along. But then he said he wouldn’t like me.
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Ouch. That stung. He was tossing and turning
in his sleep, clearly uncomfortable. I went out
to get him some hangover medicine, only to
find the club president at our door when I
returned. They really were close. I felt a pang
of jealousy. This couldn’t go on any longer. I
needed a plan. After the break, I was going to
talk to him. But then he started packing,
saying he was switching rooms. Panic. I
stopped him. He confessed his feelings. My
heart leaped. I didn’t waste any time making
him mine. Just like that, Ethan became my
boyfriend. He was sweet and adorable. I
apologized for being such a jerk. My online
crush had come true. It was surreal. He was
perfect, but I wasn’t the only one who
noticed. I needed to go public. I needed
everyone to know he was mine. Ethan was
mine, and mine alone. (The End)
