FUCKBOY? ❤︎⁠ Khoa

The grand ballroom of Edenbridge University was a sea of tailored tuxedos, flowing silk gowns, and the low, polite murmur of old money.

Classical music drifted from the stage, but to Khoa, it just sounded like white noise compounding the static panic in his head.

He stood near one of the high marble pillars, dressed in a sleek, all-black suit—no tie, top buttons undone to show off his collarbone and a hint of the dark ink creeping up his neck (his dad had made sure he got the suit right).

To anyone passing by, Kody looked like a bored prince surveying his kingdom, his icy blue-grey eyes cool and entirely detached.

In reality? He was internally trying to make a list of smooth pickup lines he had found on Pinterest at three in the morning.

Then, he saw her.

She walked into the VIP section, commanding the room without even trying. As a university trustee, she possessed an effortless, mature authority that made the student body seem like children playing dress-up. Khoa’s throat went completely dry. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic rhythm that completely contradicted his slouchy, indifferent posture.

Alright. Fake it till you make it, he told himself, biting the inside of his cheek until the sharp sting centred him. You're Kody. You can handle this.

He unforced his shoulders, let his trademark arrogant smirk slide onto his face, and began his approach.

He cut through the crowd with a slow, deliberate stride, entirely ignoring the glances from a few sophomore girls nearby.

His focus was locked on her.

As she finished a conversation with the dean and stepped away toward a quieter corner near the balcony, Khoa seized his moment. He didn't just walk up to her; he stepped right into her vision and leaned his tall frame against the balustrade just inches from her side.

"You know, for a university trustee, you're doing a terrible job of mingling," Khoa murmured. His voice was low, smooth, and deliberately dropped to its deepest tone.

He turned his head, fixing her with an unblinking, heavy-lidded stare. He let his eyes track slowly down her evening gown before bringing his gaze back up to her face, hoping she couldn’t hear the way his lungs were practically screaming for oxygen.

"Shouldn't you be over there shaking hands with the donors?" He tilted his glass toward the crowd, his smirk widening by a fraction. "Or did you just get bored of the old guys and come looking for some actual entertainment?"

He shifted his weight, bringing himself just a little bit closer, using his height to lean over her in a way he thought looked dominant and worldly.

"I noticed you the second you walked in," he continued, his tone dripping with practiced, flirty confidence. "And honestly? It’s a little distracting. How am I supposed to pretend to be a well-behaved student when you're walking around looking like that?"

The roaring chaos of the Edenbridge University stadium was deafening.

The final buzzer had just sounded, cementing another massive victory for the home team, and the student section was a frenzy of flying confetti, spilled beer, and high-energy chants.

Down on the field, Khoa was right in the center of the madness. He didn't even do much, but as the golden boy of Kappa Delta Rho, he was treated like royalty at the post-game celebration. He was a walking thirst trap: his silver-streaked hair was damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead in messy loops, and his oversized KDR jersey was slouched heavily off one shoulder, exposing his sharp collarbone and the dark tribal ink sprawling down his arm.

Currently, he had a pretty sophomore clinging to his left arm and another hovering entirely too close to his right, both of them giggling at something he didn't even realize he said.

He played the part flawlessly. He kept his head tilted back, a smug, lazy grin plastered on his face as he laughed along, tossing a casual arm around one of their shoulders just to show off for the crowd.

He looked like the ultimate campus elite—untouchable, adored, and completely running the show.

And then, his icy blue eyes drifted up toward the VIP box.

Sitting in the plush, glass-enclosed reserved section for the university trustees was she. She looked incredibly sophisticated, a striking contrast to the sweaty, screaming college kids flooding the field below.

The moment Khoa's eyes locked onto her, his brain completely short-circuited. The smug grin on his face faltered for a microsecond before he forced it back into place.

His heart, already racing from the adrenaline of the game, did a violent flip.

She’s here. She actually watched the game. Did she see him? Was she looking at him?

Instantly, his "high and mighty" switch flipped into overdrive. He needed to look like the exact type of worldly, experienced guy who could handle a woman of her stature.

He gently but firmly untangled himself from the two girls, ignoring their whines of protest with a dismissive, cool wink. He snatched a cold bottle of water from a nearby cooler, poured a bit of it over his head to shake back his silver strands, and began walking toward the private staircase leading up to the VIP deck.

Every step he took was slow, deliberate, and dripping with practiced swagger, his eyes never leaving her.

He bypassed the security guard with a lazy flash of his KDR VIP wristband, stepping into the quiet, air-conditioned luxury of the trustee suite. The sudden shift from the roaring stadium to this refined silence made his throat go dry, but he refused to let his mask slip.

He walked straight toward her seating area, completely ignoring the other older board members.

He stopped right in front of her row, looming over her with his hands slouched into the pockets of his track pants. He let his gaze slide over her slowly, his eyes heavy-lidded and heavy with an arrogant, flirty confidence.

"Didn't take you for a football fan, sweetheart," Khoa murmured, his voice dropping into that low, gravelly register he thought made him sound incredibly mature. He tilted his chin down, looking at her through his lashes with a sharp, piercing smirk.

He leaned down slightly, invading her personal space, the scent of his sweaty, raw heat cutting through the pristine air of the suite.

He nodded vaguely toward the glass window, pointing down to the field where the group of girls was still looking around, scanning the crowd for him.

"I had a pretty busy fan club down there, but honestly? They're exhausting," he said, his tone dripping with cool, unbothered indifference as he tried to act like a selective player. He brought his eyes back to her face, his smirk turning challenging. "So, I decided to come up here and see if the view was any better. Tell me, you enjoyed the show?”

The oak door of her residence clicked shut, instantly locking out the distant hum of the highway.

The silence in the room was sudden, heavy, and thick with tension.

Khoa leaned his back against the closed door, tossing his jacket onto a nearby chair with what he hoped looked like seasoned, effortless confidence. He had his hands slouched into his pockets, his chin tilted up as he fixed her with his signature cold, heavy-lidded stare. The dim, warm lighting of her apartment caught the sharp angles of his jawline and the intricate ink tracing his collarbone.

"Finally," he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly purr that he had practiced in the mirror earlier. "Alone at last. I was starting to think you were intentionally trying to keep me at a distance, sweetheart."

He took a slow, deliberate step toward her, his tall frame looming over her as he stepped closer.

He let his gaze trail down to her lips, his trademark arrogant smirk firmly in place. He reached out, his long fingers gently catching a strand of her hair.

"So... Now that you've got the campus golden boy all to yourself, what are you planning to do with me?"

Yet the moment he felt the touch of her fingers against his bare skin, it sent a violent jolt straight down his spine.

The cool, impenetrable "Kody" mask didn't just slip—it shattered into a million pieces. His arrogant smirk completely vanished, his lips parting in a small, breathless gasp.

He felt her guiding him backward toward the edge of the plush sofa; his long legs grew suddenly clumsy. He sank onto the cushions, and she leaned over him, effectively trapping him beneath her gaze.

A brilliant, burning crimson blush erupted across his cheeks, rapidly spreading down his neck and flooding his chest.

His heart hammered so violently against his ribs he was certain she could feel it. His icy blue eyes widened, completely stripped of their cold edge, darting frantically around her face as pure, unadulterated panic took over.

"I—uh..." Khoa stammered, his voice completely losing its deep, gravelly pitch, cracking slightly as his throat went bone-dry.

His hands, previously so smooth and casual, now hovered awkwardly in the air, trembling microscopically.

He didn't know where to put them. Did he touch her waist? Her shoulders? What if he gripped too hard? What if he behaved like a total idiot?

The terrifying weight of his own virginity crashed down on him, rendering him entirely paralyzed.

Khoa swallowed hard, his chest heaving with shallow, nervous breaths. He completely abandoned the high and mighty act, his gaze dropping down to her collarbone because looking into her eyes was suddenly too intense, too exposing.

He bit his inner cheek, a soft, defeated whine escaping the back of his throat.

"Please don't..." he whispered, his voice trembling, entirely submissive to her presence. He slowly brought his shaky hands up, hesitantly clutching at the fabric of her dress like a drowning man holding onto a lifeline. "Don't laugh at me. Just... tell me what you want me to do. Please.”

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