Still looking down, Riley twisted her hands nervously.
“But… are these… normal clothes?” she stammered.
‘Seriously, what kind of normal shirt is missing buttons on the top? And these shorts are barely longer than underwear!’
“Of course, they’re normal clothes,” Alex insisted, his face perfectly straight, pulling the lie out of thin air without a hint of shame. “They were designed and made, right? That means they’re meant for people to wear.”
Riley glanced down again at the two obvious black curves visible through the thin shirt. She looked up at him, biting her lip. “Are you sure?”
“Still doubting me?” Alex gently pressed her shoulders, making her lean forward slightly. Then, smack! He gave her surprisingly firm backside a light, playful tap. It held no real force.
Sera could certainly tell you the difference. The night he’d had his way with her, the sharp smack, smack, smack sounds against her skin had echoed clearly through the entire room.
Riley clamped her lips shut and wriggled free from his hold. Awkwardly, she pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll… I’ll get you a drink of water.”
‘This is a women’s dormitory!’ she thought frantically. He’d only been here a few minutes and was already all over her. Yet, she felt powerless to make him leave.
He was her boss. The one who signed her paychecks.
More importantly, her grandmother’s life was in his hands. He’d managed the hospital fees, spent his own fortune to fly in a specialist doctor from overseas for her grandma, and now he’d even brought her a gift.
Okay, so the gift was… questionable. Definitely questionable.
But he did bring it. She couldn’t just thank him and show him the door five seconds later! ‘Think, Riley, where are your manners? You can’t do that!’
“Okay,” Alex replied easily. He actually was feeling a bit thirsty.
“Just wait here, I’ll get it.”
He leaned back comfortably in the chair, watching her search frantically across her desk. After a moment, realizing she didn’t have a spare cup, she picked up the one she always used.
She carried it over to the small sink on the balcony, rinsed it out thoroughly under the tap several times, and then filled it with clean water from the dispenser.
When she brought the clear glass back, filled to the brim, that rascal Alex didn’t immediately reach for it. Instead, a teasing grin spread across his face. “Ah, is this your personal cup?”
Riley looked down at the glass in her hand, then back at him. Her cheeks flushed as she lowered her head and mumbled, “I don’t have any others. This is the only one.”
Only then did Alex take the cup. He drank the water down in a few quick gulps. Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Setting the empty glass aside, his eyes immediately locked onto her smooth, pale legs. Before she could react, he reached out and pulled her right back onto his lap.
Riley squirmed instinctively, trying to push away, but she was no match for his strength. Terrified of making noise that might carry to the next room, she quickly stopped struggling, her body tense.
Feeling the warmth of his thigh beneath her, the blush that started on her cheeks spread all the way down her neck. She stared fixedly at the floor and whispered, the words barely audible, “It’s getting… really late now. My… my roommates might be back any minute.”
As if on cue, the phone she’d left on the desk vibrated twice.
She shifted, trying to lean forward and grab it.
But pinned on his lap, with his arm firmly around her waist, she couldn’t properly stand. She ended up in an awkward half-crouch, stretching unsteadily towards the desk.
Alex was sitting with his back to the desk. As she leaned forward, straining to reach the phone, the loose, half-open white shirt fell forward, completely covering his face.
He blinked, finding himself staring into soft darkness. The only sensation was a yielding softness pressed right against the tip of his nose. He couldn’t see a thing.
Almost involuntarily, Alex nudged his nose slightly against the fabric. It felt incredibly smooth, and he caught a faint, sweet, almost milky scent.
Riley must have felt the unexpected pressure against her chest. Snatching her phone, she quickly dropped back onto his lap, startled by a sudden hard pressure poking against her rear.
Noticing her attempt to pretend nothing unusual had just happened, Alex decided not to mention it either.
‘Just a little brush with the nose,’ he thought dismissively. ‘It’s not like that time in the hospital stairwell when I got a whole faceful.’
Riley quickly unlocked her phone. There were new messages from all three of her roommates.
They were all voice messages.
She tapped the first one, carefully lowering the phone’s volume first. But this particular roommate hailed from the northern provinces, blessed with a naturally booming voice.
“Riley! Hey! Just letting you know I won’t be back tonight! If anyone does room checks, just make something up for me, okay? Love you, mean it, mwah!”
‘Not coming back tonight!’ Riley’s heart skipped a beat as she quickly tapped on the next roommate’s message.
The second voice message began:
“Riley, you won’t believe this! Some scalper contacted me saying he had tickets for my idol’s concert! I totally thought it was a scam, but I scanned the QR code, and they’re LEGIT! And get this – the scalper must be an idiot because he didn’t jack up the price at all! Sold them to me for face value! Anyway, gotta run, my train’s about to leave. So yeah, won’t be back tonight either! Love ya, mwah!”
Listening, Riley’s brow tightened into a knot.
Okay, if she still didn’t get what was happening, she’d have to be denser than rock. She might be naive, but she wasn’t stupid.
With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she tapped play on the final roommate’s message.
“Riley! My boyfriend somehow won two tickets for a two-day getaway at that super fancy resort villa in the City! Amazing, right? So, obviously, I can’t make it back to the dorm tonight. Love you lots, mwah!”