Chapter 2

"Exactly! With a face like yours, you could land a guy way above Derek's league—maybe not the campus king, but at least a department heartthrob. Like that guy, Ross. He's so into you! Last time, he actually threw hands because Derek made fun of you. How can you—"

Sophie was a talker. Once she got going, there was no stopping her.

I didn't bother answering. I went about my business, washed up, and climbed into bed with my beat-up old phone clutched in my hand.

Seeing that I wasn't going to engage, Sophie finally sighed and dropped it.

…

Our dorm was tight-knit, and the main reason was that all three of my roommates couldn't stand my hopeless, lovesick streak.

Not even two days into freshman year, I'd already made a grand public spectacle of myself confessing to Derek in front of the whole class.

Derek—probably spoiled rotten by girls his whole life—didn't even blink at my dramatic display. He just sat there, slouched in his chair with that mocking smirk of his.

"You like me? You've known me for, what, a couple of days?"

I stared at his face. "Three days."

School had only been in session for three days, and I'd already gone and done that. No wonder he looked at me like I was a joke.

But honestly? With that face of his, three days almost felt like I'd waited too long.

"Three days and you're already throwing around the L-word. Who do you think you are?

"What, you the new campus queen or some heiress? Get real."

His words were sharp, cutting, meant to wound. But I didn't flinch. My gaze never wavered.

Maybe that's what caught his attention.

"You're not really my type," he said, leaning back. "But I'd feel bad shutting you down flat. So here's a deal—stick around for three months. Do whatever I say, whenever I say it. And if you make it, I'll be your boyfriend."

I nodded.

From that day on, whenever Derek called—no matter what I was doing—I dropped everything and ran. Never said no. Never hesitated.

At first, my roommates only whispered behind my back. Then one day, I accidentally walked in on them talking trash about me in the dorm. I just told them straight up: if they had something to say, they could say it to my face.

"So you know you're a love-crazed fool?" Sophie, who wasn't that close to me back then, had the guts to ask.

I nodded.

"But why?" she pressed. "You're pretty. You seem like you come from a decent family. Why waste yourself on some player who doesn't even like you back?"

…

I knew exactly what Derek was.

The first day I laid eyes on him, I tracked down someone from his hometown. Asked around. Dug up his whole messy history.

Everyone said the same thing: he's a player.

But what did that have to do with me? I only cared about his face.

"As long as I get to stay by his side, I'll do whatever it takes."

"I've seriously never met anyone so—" Sophie gritted her teeth, at a loss for words. And for a chatterbox like her, that was saying something.

I didn't care. Day in and day out, between classes and studying, I orbited around Derek like he was the sun. Even he found it baffling.

"Guess you really are that into me," he said.

By then, he'd already sent the girl from last night packing. He was sprawled across the hotel bed in nothing but a towel, watching me with lazy amusement.

I handed him the bag and said nothing.

He pulled out his phone and checked the date. "Almost three months now."

He kept staring at me, that same smug look on his face. When I didn't react, his expression soured.

"Honestly? I'm not into you. But a deal's a deal. Starting tomorrow, you're my official girlfriend. How's that?"

His tone was dripping with condescension, like he was doing me some huge favor.

I tossed a white dress shirt at his face.

"Then put some clothes on first."

…

Derek rented a place off-campus.

Over the past couple of months, I'd made plenty of trips to grab his clothes and bring them to whatever hotel he was crashing at. But this outfit? Definitely not his.

He peeled the shirt off his head with a look of pure disgust, glancing between me and the fabric in his hands. "The hell is this?"

In the bag was a pair of black dress pants to match.