Chapter One – Move-In Day

Chapter 1: Move in Day

By the time I lugged my third overstuffed box up three flights of stairs, I was already sweating through my favorite “Support Your Local Coffee Shop” hoodie. The late-August heat had turned the stairwell into a sauna, and each step felt like climbing a small mountain with a boulder strapped to my chest. My arms burned, my bangs stuck to my forehead in damp clumps, and the cardboard edges of the box kept digging into my forearms like tiny cardboard teeth. I paused on the landing to catch my breath, muttering curses under it, then shouldered the door open with all the grace of a drunk toddler.

I stumbled into what would apparently be my new home for the next nine months.

And promptly tripped over a duffel bag the size of a small country.

“Seriously?” I wheezed, windmilling my arms as I caught myself on the edge of the nearest desk before I could eat carpet. The box slipped from my grip and landed with a heavy, dramatic thud that probably registered on the seismograph in the geology building across campus. I glared down at the black monstrosity that had nearly ended me on day one. Bold white letters stitched across the top: **CRUZ**.

Oh no.

Everyone on campus knew that name.

I straightened slowly, brushing sweaty hair out of my eyes, and finally took in the room properly. The right side—my side, according to the housing email—was still blissfully empty: naked mattress, bare desk, one lonely chair waiting for occupation. The left side looked like someone had already moved in and claimed territorial rights with military precision.

Neatly stacked textbooks towered on the desk—giant, intimidating tomes on kinesiology, sports psychology, and advanced biomechanics that looked heavy enough to double as free weights. A couple of worn hoodies were draped over the back of the chair like they’d been placed there with intention. Under the bed, a pair of football cleats sat at perfect right angles, laces tucked inside, gleaming faintly like they’d been polished yesterday.

And then there was the guy himself.

Dante Cruz sat on the edge of his bed, forearms braced on his knees, posture relaxed in a way that somehow still screamed coiled power. His dark hair was slightly mussed, like he’d run his hands through it too many times, and those icy blue eyes were locked on me with the kind of focused intensity usually reserved for game film breakdowns or staring down a defensive line.

Quarterback. Team golden boy. Six-foot-three (maybe four) of lean muscle, swirling black ink visible on his forearms and creeping up one bicep, and an aura that said *don’t test me unless you want to lose*. I’d seen him around last semester always moving through crowds like gravity bent around him, teammates orbiting, admirers trailing at a respectful distance. The kind of guy who probably never had to carry his own gym bag and whose I*******m comments section looked like a thirst-trap convention.

And now… my roommate.

“Oh,” I managed, because apparently my brain had short-circuited. “Uh. Hi.”

He didn’t respond immediately. Those piercing eyes tracked me in slow motion: from the cardboard carnage at my feet, up to the coffee stain on my hoodie that had mysteriously appeared during move-in chaos, down to my skinny jeans rolled at the ankle over scuffed Vans. His jaw flexed once, a tiny muscle ticking.

“You’re Summers?” His voice came out low and rough, like he’d swallowed gravel and decided to keep it.

“Eli. Yeah.” I attempted a casual smile, though my stomach was currently auditioning for the Olympic gymnastics team. “Your new partner in crime. Or, you know… cohabitation specialist. Roommate. Whatever works.”

One dark eyebrow arched slowly. For one heart-stopping second, I was convinced he was about to stand up, grab my box, and yeet both me and my belongings back into the hallway. Instead, he leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. The motion pulled his T-shirt tight across his shoulders and made his biceps look like they were planning world domination.

Fantastic. I was going to be living with a literal human mountain range.

Needing something to do with my hands before I started fidgeting like a caffeinated squirrel, I dropped to my knees and began unpacking. Out came the chaos: three spiral notebooks already covered in doodles, my laptop plastered with pride flags and band stickers, a ceramic mug shaped like a smug cat wearing sunglasses. I arranged them on the desk with exaggerated care, turning the mug so the cat faced outward like it was judging the room.

I could feel his stare burning into the side of my head the entire time.

“You always bring this much crap?” he muttered after a long minute.

I gasped theatrically, clutching the cat mug to my chest like a shield. “This isn’t *crap*. This is *personality*. Big difference.”

His lips twitched just the barest hint of movement at one corner. Not quite a smile, but the ghost of one. Progress.

Emboldened, I stole another glance at his side of the room. Minimalist. Controlled. Intimidating. Folded shirts in perfect stacks, a single framed photo of what looked like a younger him with an older man (dad? coach?) on the nightstand, everything arranged with ruthless efficiency. My half already looked like a craft store had thrown up during a blackout.

“You’re… neat,” I observed, waving vaguely at the crisp lines of his belongings. “Like, military-neat. Did they send you to quarterback boot camp over the summer or something? Teach you how to fold socks into lethal weapons?”

That earned me a low, rumbling grunt. I decided to interpret it as amusement rather than contempt.

Silence settled again, thick and curious. He reached for a water bottle on his desk, twisted the cap off with one hand, took a long drink. I kept unpacking: string lights with tiny golden bulbs, a croissant-shaped throw pillow I’d impulse-bought at 2 a.m. on Etsy, more notebooks, a small potted succulent I was determined not to kill within the first week.

When I finally turned back, he was still watching—head tilted slightly now, expression unreadable but no longer openly hostile. Like he was trying to solve a puzzle that had just walked in wearing fairy lights and cat merch.

I cleared my throat. “So… ground rules? Should we make a chore chart? Color-code the fridge shelves? Or do you already have a secret girlfriend who’s going to show up at midnight and throw my stuff out the window if I leave dishes in the sink?”

The almost-smile flickered again, sharper this time. “No girlfriends. No chore chart.” He paused, eyes narrowing just a fraction. “Just don’t touch my stuff.”

“Noted.” I snapped a mock salute, fingers brushing my forehead. “In return, you don’t mock my fairy lights.”

“Fairy lights?” He sounded like the concept personally offended him.

“Obviously.” I held up the tangled strand like a proud parent showing off a child’s finger painting. “Ambience matters, Cruz. Without it, we’re just two dudes breathing the same recycled air and slowly losing our minds. Fairy lights are basically therapy in bulb form.”

This time the grunt definitely carried a thread of reluctant amusement.

And just like that, something shifted in the air between us—small, fragile, but real. Dante Cruz might look like he bench-pressed cars for fun and scowled at sunshine, but there was a crack in the armor. Maybe more than one.

I stood on my desk chair to string the lights along the wall above my bed, stretching precariously until I could hook the final clip. When I stepped down and plugged them in, soft golden light bloomed across my half of the room, turning the harsh fluorescent overhead into something almost cozy.

I glanced toward the window to check the reflection—and froze.

In the glass, Dante’s face was illuminated in warm honey tones. His jaw was tight, arms still crossed, but his gaze wasn’t on the lights.

It was on me.

Steady. Unblinking. Intense in a way that made my pulse stutter.

It wasn’t annoyance.

It wasn’t indifference.

It was something else entirely something that felt dangerously close to curiosity, maybe even interest.

And for the first time since I’d walked through that door, I wondered if surviving a year with Dante Cruz might be less about survival… and more about whatever happened when two completely opposite worlds collided in one tiny dorm room.