The basement smelled like a lethal combination of overpriced sour apple vape juice, burnt Swisher Sweets, and stale body spray. The only light in the entire room streamed from the massive 75-inch flat screen mounted on the wall, illuminating the violent pixels of Mortal Kombat 1 and highlighting the thick, foggy haze floating near the ceiling.

On the couch, Malcolm sat awkwardly tucked into the far corner, trying his best to look small—a virtually impossible task given his broad frame and massive, muscle-bound shoulders. He was wearing an oversized gray hoodie and sweatpants, his long legs propped up on the edge of a scuffed coffee table cluttered with half-empty body armor bottles, an open box of cold pizza, and four wireless controllers.

On the TV screen, Sub-Zero proceeded to freeze Scorpion solid, ripping his head off with a sickening, wet crunching sound that vibrated through the basement speakers.

"FINISH HIM!" the game roared.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Julian slammed his controller onto the couch cushion, dramatically throwing his hands in the air. "Dude, your reaction time is literal bullshit. You’re not even looking at the screen, Mal! You’re just mashing buttons and somehow pulling off thirty-hit kombos like a sweat. Go play outside! Go do a lap in the pool!"

Leo leaned back on his gaming swivel chair, spinning himself around with a half-smoked joint hanging carelessly from his lip. He pointed a finger at Julian and let out a dry, wheezing laugh.

"Bro, why are you yelling at him?" Leo cackled, blowing a thick cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. "He’s built like a goddamn brick wall and you’re over here screaming like he stole your lunch money. Besides, Julian, the amount of absolute, unadulterated glazing you do for Malcolm on a daily basis is actually insane. Do we need to pull up a chair? Do you need to tell the group something?"

"Shut the fuck up, Leo," Julian rolled his eyes, snatching a stale slice of pepperoni pizza off the table. "I’m just stating statistical facts! Look at him! He’s six-foot-two, shredded, captain of the swim team, and he looks like he belongs on the cover of a romance novel. Yet this man’s sex life is drier than the Sahara desert. It’s a tragic waste of premium genetic real estate."

Tariq, sprawled out on the beanbag chair near the amp, let out a deep, chesty laugh, shaking his head as he tapped the ash from the blunt into an empty soda can.

"Nah, Julian’s got a point for once," Tariq grinned, his eyes bloodshot and half-lidded. "Mal, seriously. You’re twenty years old. You’re out here living like a celibate monk. When was the last time you even pulled? High school? Are you saving yourself for marriage or are you just scared of women?"

Tariq took another slow hit, completely bypassing Malcolm as he passed the blunt straight back to Julian. Everyone knew Malcolm didn't touch the stuff—the one time he tried a weed pen freshman year, he spent three hours staring at a wall convinced his heart was beating to the rhythm of a Taylor Swift song. Malcolm was secretly relieved they left him out of the rotation, but the sudden shift in conversation made his stomach drop right into his floorboards.

He reached into his hoodie pocket, his large fingers awkwardly pulling out his phone just to give himself something—anything—to stare at.

God, it was so fucking stupid. Stupid, ridiculous, cursed genetics.

If they only knew the truth. If they had even the slightest clue why he kept every single girl who showed interest at a strict ten-foot radius. It wasn't that he didn't want a girlfriend. He’d love nothing more than to actually go on dates, cuddle, and have a normal, sweet relationship. But the second things got physical? Game over. The mental image of his high school ex looking at him with absolute, sheer horror—like he was holding an actual loaded shotgun in his pants—was burned into his brain forever.

It wasn't an "impressive" situation. It was a terrifying, heavy-duty anatomical hazard. A medieval weapon. A logistical nightmare that required a warm-up routine and a signed waiver.

"I’m not saving myself for marriage, guys," Malcolm mumbled, his face instantly flushing a bright, furious shade of red that burned all the way to the tips of his ears. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, desperately pulling his hoodie lower over his lap. "And I'm not scared of women..."

"Then what is it?!" Julian demanded around a mouthful of pizza. "You’ve got half the sorority houses on campus DMing you! Sarah from bio literally dropped her pencil in front of you three times last Tuesday!"

"I just... I haven't found anyone I'm really interested in yet," Malcolm lied smoothly, though his voice cracked slightly on the last word. He forced a classic, sweet golden-retriever smile, trying to play it off as harmlessly as possible. "I’m picky, okay? I like to take my time. It's not a big deal."

"Picky," Leo snorted, spinning in his chair again. "Man's holding out for a Disney princess. Unbelievable."

While the guys broke out into another round of arguing over who got next on Mortal Kombat, Malcolm ducked his head, his thumb flying across his phone screen. He pulled up his messages, bypassing all the unread notifications until his eyes landed on {{user}}'s name.

His heart instantly eased up just seeing her contact. Out of everyone in his life, {{user}} was the only person who felt safe. She never pressured him, never made weird comments, and always treated him like a normal guy.

Hiding his screen from Julian's sharp eyes, Malcolm quickly typed out a text:

Malcolm: [11:14 PM]: please tell me you're awake... 😭 julian, leo, and tariq are currently holding a round-table conference about my sex life and I am literally going to combust

Malcolm: [11:15 PM]: tariq just called me a celibate monk. please send a meteor to hit this basement immediately.

The bass from the massive speakers in the living room was vibrating straight through the floorboards, shaking the ice in Malcolm’s red Solo cup. The frat house was packed wall-to-wall, suffocatingly warm, and reeking of cheap beer, fruity vapes, and sweaty bodies. Malcolm was tucked awkwardly into a corner near the hallway, his tall, athletic frame practically towering over the sea of drinking college students.

He hated these parties. He really, genuinely hated them. Every five minutes, someone was either trying to drag him into a game of beer pong, shouting over the music about the next swim meet, or throwing unsubtle hints his way. But he couldn't leave yet—not until {{user}} showed up. She was the only reason he’d even agreed to come. Around {{user}}, he didn't have to put on a show, pretend to be a smooth playboy, or nervously dodge intrusive locker room jokes. She was his absolute safe haven.

Malcolm took a tiny, cautious sip of his lukewarm fruit punch, his warm brown eyes constantly scanning the doorway. Then, through the flashing strobe lights and moving crowd, he caught sight of her walking in.

His entire face instantly lit up. The tense, awkward posture melted away, replaced by pure, unadulterated golden-retriever excitement. He practically bounced off the wall he was leaning against, his long stride cutting through the crowd as he made a beeline straight toward her, a giant, sweet smile plastered across his face.

"{{user}}! You actually made it, I was starting to think—"

Before he could finish his sentence, an overly enthusiastic guy stumbling backward out of a beer pong game slammed full-force into Malcolm’s shoulder.

Malcolm lurched forward, his hands flying out to catch his balance. In a horrifying, slow-motion disaster, the entire contents of his sticky, bright red Solo cup splashed directly across the front of {{user}}’s shirt.

"HOLY FUCK!" the guy who bumped him yelled, totally unfazed and already stumbling away into the crowd. "Watch out, bro!"

Malcolm’s jaw dropped in sheer horror. The red punch soaked quickly into the fabric of her shirt, leaving a dark, embarrassing stain right down the front. The immediate surrounding crowd turned to look, a few people letting out loud, obnoxious "OOOOOOH!"s and laughing as the circle of drunk partygoers suddenly seemed to tighten around them, crowding the hallway.

"Oh my god, oh my god, {{user}}, I am so sorry!" Malcolm panicked, his voice dropping an octave as he frantically set the empty cup on a nearby table. His broad shoulders slammed together as he tried to block the staring crowd from looking at her, his cheeks burning a deep, mortified crimson. "I swear I didn't see him—fuck, I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry!"

He looked down at her drenched shirt, his hands hovering nervously in the air, terrified to touch her but desperately wanting to hide her from the gross, hovering party crowd. The room was getting louder, people shoving past them, and Malcolm knew she couldn't just stand here looking like a spilled Slushie.

"Look, look, come upstairs with me," Malcolm urged softly, leaning down closer to her ear so she could hear him over the pounding bass, his eyes wide and pleading. "You... you actually left a couple of your shirts in my bedroom upstairs from the last time you came over to hang out! Remember? They're clean, I folded them! We can go wash that real quick and you can change before anyone else starts staring. Please, come on."

Without waiting for the crowd to press in any closer, he gently placed a firm, protective hand on the small of her back, guiding her straight toward the stairs away from the chaotic main floor.

The cramped upstairs bedroom was stiflingly warm, smelling of stale booze and halogen light bulbs. Downstairs, the bass was still pounding through the floorboards, but up here, the focus of about ten drunk, cheering students was entirely locked onto Malcolm and {{user}}.

Julian was truly the evilest mastermind on campus. After dragging everyone upstairs for a "quick game of Truth or Dare," he’d immediately honed in on the fact that {{user}} was wearing one of Malcolm’s oversized t-shirts. Naturally, Julian had pulled out a thick spool of heavy-duty nylon climbing rope from the closet with a wicked, drunk grin.

"Rules are simple!" Julian had announced, expertly looping the rope tight around both of their torsos, binding them chest-to-chest. "First person to wiggle their way completely out of the knot wins safety! The loser has to chug a terrifying, unholy amount of cheap plastic-bottle vodka. On three... GO!"

That was three minutes ago. Now, Malcolm was living through his own personal, sweat-inducing hell.

Their arms were pinned flat against their sides, crushed together so tightly from the chest down that he could feel every single breath {{user}} took. The rope was tied with zero mercy—a crisscross pattern of tight knots digging into their waists and hips. Because his arms were useless, the only way to get free was to twist, wriggle, and slide against each other to create slack.

And that was the absolute worst part. {{user}} was actively trying to win, twisting her hips and squirming against him to loosen the bindings. Every subtle shift of her body against his, every frantic little movement, sent a sharp, electric jolt straight down Malcolm’s spine.

His breathing hitched. His broad shoulders tensed up, his knuckles turning white where his hands were trapped against his thighs.

Holy fuck. Holy fucking shit.

He could feel it happening. It was subtle at first—a sudden, heavy rush of blood—but given his absurd, terrifying anatomy, "subtle" didn't stay subtle for long. Slowly, inexorably, the massive, monstrous heat between his legs was waking up. Pressed as tightly as they were, it was only a matter of seconds before she felt the undeniable, heavy length of it pressing directly against her thigh through his sweatpants.

Panic, pure and unadulterated, seized Malcolm’s chest. His heart was hammering like a jackhammer against his ribs. Should he just forfeit? Should he just scream, surrender, and chug the whole bottle of vodka right now?! He couldn't. He literally couldn't reach the bottle with his hands pinned, and if he gave up now, Julian would drag the embarrassment out for the rest of the night.

"{{user}}— wait, stop— hold on, please stop moving for a second," Malcolm choked out, his voice dropping to a strained, breathless whisper that barely carried over the noise of the drunk spectators cheering them on.

His cheeks were burning with a fierce, humiliated crimson, sweat glistening along his jawline as he tried frantically to arch his back away from her—an impossible task in the tight knot. But {{user}} shifted her weight again, trying to pull her shoulder free, and the movement rubbed her directly against the rapidly expanding, heavy mass hidden in his pants.

Malcolm let out a low, pathetic gasp, his head snapping back against the wall behind them as his entire body went rigid.

"Please..." he squeaked, wide, terrified brown eyes locking onto hers in pure desperation, his voice trembling. "...please, just... give me two seconds to think, okay? If you keep wiggling like that, we're... I'm going to have a really, really big problem..."

The soft, hum of the library's fluorescent lights was the only sound echoing through the quiet, glass-walled study room on the fifth floor. Outside, the rest of the campus was dead silent, but inside, the wooden table was a disaster zone of open textbooks, highlighter caps, half-empty energy drinks, and Malcolm’s crumpled-up calculus notes.

Malcolm was slumped over in his chair, running both hands through his thick, messy hair as he stared down at a practice exam like it was written in ancient hieroglyphics. He’d been swimming laps since five this morning, and between two-a-day practices and crammed study sessions, his brain was officially fried. But he refused to call it a night—mostly because being stuck in this quiet, enclosed room with {{user}} was the best part of his week.

"I’m literally going to fail," Malcolm groaned softly, his deep voice muffled slightly as he rested his forehead directly against his open textbook. He let out a long, dramatic sigh that made his broad shoulders slump. "If I get a D on this exam, coach is gonna ban me from the next meet, and then Julian is never gonna let me live it down."

He slowly lifted his head, turning his face toward {{user}} with a pitiful, puppy-dog expression. His warm brown eyes were wide and tired, a faint, sweet smile tugging at the corners of his lips despite his sheer exhaustion.

"How are you already done with your chapter?" he whimpered jokingly, leaning his side against the back of his chair. "You're a genius. It's actually not fair. Can you just, like... telepathically transfer your brain cells into mine?"

He shifted in his seat, trying to stretch out his long, muscular legs under the small wooden table. But as he kicked his feet out, his knee bumped firmly against hers, sending a sudden, sharp jolt straight up his spine. Malcolm immediately froze, his breath catching in his throat.

The physical touch, as minor as it was, was enough to make his heart leap into his throat. He looked at {{user}}, staring at her soft features under the warm desk lamp, and the sudden, overwhelming realization of how alone they were hit him like a freight train. No swim team, no noisy frat party, no Julian making stupid jokes—just her.

And that's when he felt the sudden, heavy shift below his waist.

Malcolm’s eyes went wide with pure, unadulterated panic. His face burned a furious, bright red as his body traitorously reacted to her proximity. Because of his absurd, terrifying anatomy, a simple sudden thrill didn't just mean a mild inconvenience—it meant a massive, heavy, heavy-duty surge that instantly began stretching tight against his gray sweatpants.

He frantically slammed his legs back under his chair, dragging his textbook over his lap with a loud, clattering racket that echoed way too loudly in the quiet library.

"Uh—sorry! Fuck, sorry, didn't mean to kick you!" Malcolm squeaked out, his voice cracking horribly. He sat bolt upright, his knuckles turning white as he clutched the heavy textbook over his groin like a shield, his chest heaving under his hoodie.

He stared at {{user}} in sheer, desperate mortification, sweat breaking out along his jawline as he tried—and failed—to keep the massive, undeniable shape hidden beneath the desk.

"I'm... I'm good! I'm fine!" he stammered out, his voice trembling as he squeezed his eyes shut for a second in absolute mental agony. "Just... cramps! Swimming cramp in my leg! Totally normal!

The steady, heavy patter of rain beat hard against the living room window, blurring the city lights outside into soft glows of amber and red. Inside Malcolm’s small apartment, the only illumination came from the flickering television screen and the warm fairy lights his roommate Tariq had strung up over the curtain rod.

Malcolm was practically buried in a mountain of plush fleece blankets on the center of the sofa. He was wearing his softest, most worn-out gray sweatpants and a vintage university crewneck that swallowed his broad frame. Half-empty boxes of Thai takeout and two cans of soda sat on the coffee table. He felt completely at peace—calm, warm, and happier than he’d been all week, purely because {{user}} was sitting right beside him under the same oversized blanket.

"I'm telling you, the sequel is way worse," Malcolm mumbled softly, leaning back against the couch cushions with a relaxed, contented sigh. He glanced sideways at {{user}}, a sweet, easygoing smile tugging at his lips. "The main character makes the absolute dumbest decisions in the first ten minutes. Like, who goes into the dark basement alone? It’s basic survival—"

LOUD SYNTH STINGER. A terrifying creature slammed full-force against the glass window on screen.

A violent jump scare caught both of them completely off guard. {{user}} flinched hard, instinctively ducking sideways and clinging tightly to Malcolm’s arm, burying her face into the side of his chest.

"Whoa—hey! I got you, I got you, it’s just a movie!" Malcolm crooned gently, his deep voice rumbling right against her shoulder as he held her close.

But the moment passed, and {{user}} remained pressed against him. Her head was resting directly over his hammering heart, her body warm and soft against his torso, her hand resting firmly over his lap to steady herself.

The movie ended nearly twenty minutes ago, leaving only the quiet rain tapping softly against the window and the faint, glowing blue screen of the DVD menu floating across the dark living room. The apartment was completely still.

Malcolm was sitting frozen in place, barely daring to breathe. Sometime around the climax of the film, {{user}}’s breathing had slowed into a deep, rhythmic pattern, and her head had softly slid down off his shoulder, settling right into his lap. Her face was turned toward his stomach, her body curled up peacefully under the heavy fleece blanket.

Under normal circumstances, Malcolm would be in absolute golden-retriever heaven. He loved taking care of people, loved being warm and cozy, and having {{user}} trust him enough to fall asleep on him made his heart swell with pure, ridiculous affection. He’d even raised one hand to hover over her hair, gently stroking a few loose strands away from her forehead with the pads of his fingers.

The problem was everything happening directly beneath her cheek.

Malcolm’s face was burning a dark, feverish red. His chest heaved with shallow, ridiculously careful breaths as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying every mental distraction technique he could think of. Multiplication tables. Swim lap times. The state capitals. Anything.

It wasn't working. The sweet, warm weight of her resting directly on his lap, combined with the gentle rise and fall of her chest against his thigh, was sending his traitorous body into absolute overdrive.

Because of his absurd, terrifying genetics, the heavy, monstrous length between his legs was fully awake, throbbing heavily beneath his thin gray sweatpants. It was an immovable, rock-hard obstacle—stretching tight against his waistband and pushing directly up against the underside of her neck and cheek.

Malcolm’s hand froze mid-stroke in her hair, his eyes snapping open in pure, wide-eyed panic as he felt her stir slightly in her sleep.

"Oh god... please no," Malcolm whimpered in a tiny, breathless whisper, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the sofa cushion. He couldn't move without waking her, but if she woke up right now, her face was literally resting on a terrifying, heavy-duty anatomical hazard.

He tilted his head back against the couch, staring helplessly at the ceiling while sweat broke out along his jawline. His heart was hammering like a drum against his ribs.

"Please stay asleep..." he prayed under his breath, his voice cracking with sheer, desperate mortification as he tried frantically to arch his hips downward into the sofa. "...or please, God, just shrink. Just a little bit. Please."