Chapter 1

I stood holding my drink, scanning the bar for tonight's target, when a commotion at the nearby table caught my attention.

Several men were pressuring a young woman, who looked to be a college student, to drink. She constantly rejected them and tried to leave, only to be pulled back each time.

"Hey, your friend's looking for you by the restroom. You should go check on her."

I shot the woman a meaningful look. She immediately caught on, grabbed her bag, and slipped away.

The men then surrounded me, exchanging glances. "Hey there, handsome. You just ruined our fun. But if you drink this, we'll call it even."

It seemed I would not be getting out of here without drinking that glass. "Fine. I'll drink this as my apology. Hope you have a successful night."

I downed the drink and returned to my seat, preparing to pack up and leave, when suddenly, my vision blurred. I tried to get up quickly, but one of the men came over and sat down, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I struggled to push him away, but something was wrong with my body. My consciousness was becoming hazy.

"Didn't you say you were going to organize materials for tomorrow's class presentation tonight? Didn't expect to find you out partying."

A clear, gentle male voice reached my ears.

"I feel terrible. Please help me." My awareness was already fuzzy, and I instinctively leaned toward that cool presence.

"Hey, please don't do this. I'm here to take you home." He helped me outside the bar, where the cold air cleared my head slightly.

"Take me to a hotel." I looked up and noticed that the guy in front of me was quite handsome.

He had rather thick brows and bright eyes. I asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Dexter Cooper," he replied.

…

My whole body ached like I had been beaten up. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a hotel room and suddenly remembered being drugged last night.

I could vaguely recall getting to the hotel. Some college guy brought me here. Everything after that was a blur, though my throat was hoarse from all the screaming.

"You're awake. I bought you an acai bowl. Sit up and have some." The guy in front of me was tall with a bright smile that revealed two little canine teeth.

"What are you looking at? Didn't you see enough last night?" Dexter laughed shyly under my stare and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Ah, it's nothing. Thanks for last night."

"No, don't mention it. Last night, we..."

"Oh, don't worry about it. We were both just having fun. It was mutual, so we're even." I put on the bathrobe as I spoke. After picking up my clothes, I headed toward the bathroom.

"That's not what I meant, babe."

"Um, calling me 'babe' isn't really appropriate, is it?"

"But we called each other that all night long. Come on, just be my boyfriend, babe."

"Whoa, hold on there, pretty boy. Last night's game is over."

I felt like things were heading in a direction I could not predict. Was he actually asking me to take responsibility for him?

Absolutely not. I, Lincoln Shaw, was determined to be a player for life.

Facing this innocent college guy, all I wanted was to escape quickly.

"Here, this is 200 dollars. Keep it. Actually, I don't know if it was your first time, so here's another 300. That's all I have in my wallet."

"What do you mean? Are you dumping me already?" he suddenly asked angrily.

"No, no. We're not lovers, so you can't call it dumping. At most, it was just a one-night stand."