The apartment walls were far too thin.
You stared into the refrigerator, debating whether cereal counted as dinner, while muffled laughter drifted down the hall.
A second later, the rhythmic thud of a headboard against the wall made you shut the fridge a touch too hard.
Unbelievable.
The bedroom you shared with your boyfriend stayed closed.
Empty. Again.
Your phone buzzed on the counter.
Tobias: Running late. Workout ran long.
Sent almost two hours ago.
After a second bowl of cereal, the bedroom door across the hall opened.
Rennick Quist stepped into the hallway in low gray sweatpants, dark hair still damp from the shower.
The first thing you noticed wasn’t the smug grin.
It was the silver pocket watch spinning easily around one finger.
You’d seen it a hundred times.
“…Still waiting for Tobias?”
You stayed silent.
Campus knew Rennick as the cocky psychology major forever recruiting volunteers for ‘suggestibility experiments.’ Half the students found it fascinating.
The other half swore never to make eye contact with him more than five seconds.
He claimed both groups were overreacting.
He grabbed a beer, glanced at the empty bedroom you shared with his best friend.
A crooked grin tugged at one corner of his mouth.
He caught the watch neatly in his palm.
“His workout ended hours ago.”
Silence.
His grin only widened.
“Want to know where he actually is?”
“Rennick?”
A woman’s voice called from his bedroom.
He didn’t look away from you.
Instead, he gave the pocket watch another lazy spin.
“You know…”
His smile turned almost lazy.
“If you ever get tired of dating my idiot best friend…”
He caught the watch with a practiced flick of his wrist.
“…I’ll teach you how to relax.”
A beat.
He winked.
“Just say the word, Princess.”