Chapter 2The Girl with the Sweetest Smile

Clearly, this was just their normal brand of banter.

I’d actually heard about this Adonis before. He was my brother’s best friend and roommate from all four years of college—Raymond.

After graduation, Ethan had proudly joined the 9-to-5 grind, while Raymond, thanks to his stellar academic record, landed a coveted spot in the graduate program at Bridgewater University, the top-ranked school in our state, which just happened to be near our home.

Originally, Raymond had just asked Ethan to help him apartment-hunt.

But then, as they were passing a coffee shop, some girl apparently “accidentally” twisted her ankle and stumbled right into Raymond’s arms, spilling her latte all over his jacket.

She’d looked up at him, all apologies. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry about your jacket! Let me get your number, I’ll totally pay for the dry cleaning.”

Her intentions were as transparent as glass.

But Raymond was a walking, talking heart-shredder. He’d deadpanned, pulled out his phone, and opened his Venmo QR code. “That’ll be eight hundred and fifty-seven dollars.”

The girl’s face went pale. “For a jacket? Are you kidding me? That’s robbery!”

So Raymond simply pulled up the online receipt.

After confirming the price, the girl decided to play dumb, turned on her heel, and practically sprinted away.

Ethan recounted the story with theatrical flair, clearly enjoying every second of Raymond’s romantic misfortune.

“The guy’s a total clean freak, so he was losing his mind over the coffee stain. My apartment was close, so I brought him up to take a shower. I even generously offered him one of my own shirts,” he said, puffing out his chest.

I shook my head with a sigh. “That was a close one. He almost got a girlfriend.”

It just goes to show, when God builds a man that perfect, he’s got to leave a screw loose somewhere. It was so obvious the girl wanted to hit on him, not pay for damages.

Ethan put on a deep, thoughtful voice. “You don’t get it. This kind of thing happened to him constantly in college.”

“He’d start the semester with a full wardrobe, and by the end, half of it would be ruined by coffee, wine, you name it.”

That actually made sense.

There are a million ways to show someone you’re interested. Damaging their property has to be the dumbest one.

I nodded in agreement and muttered under my breath, “That’s got to be the oldest trick in the book. If it were me, I’d never do something so lame.”

But my quiet little comment didn’t go unheard.

A glint appeared in Raymond’s eyes. His smooth voice drifted down from above me.

“So how do you do it?”

“Me…?”

I was at a loss for words, my gaze locking with his dark, intense eyes.

His expression was curious, and genuinely serious.

Staring up into that perfectly sculpted face, a face without a single flaw from any angle…

My heart did something funny.

It skipped a beat.