His Room,His Rules

I should’ve known from the moment I stepped into room 218B that this year would ruin me.

The room was small—barely enough space for two beds, two desks, and one shared closet. The walls were white, clinical, and the floor was a dull gray tile that echoed every move I made. One side of the room was bare. The other… definitely wasn’t. A messy comforter, black fitted sheets, a half-full laundry bag, and a bottle of cologne tossed on the desk. Someone already lived here.

And that someone was going to be my roommate.

Jace Carter.

I’d heard his name before I ever saw him. Whispers during orientation, passed between groups of freshman girls and a few boys with flushed cheeks and fast breaths.

“He’s a senior. Swim team. Total god.”

“He’s hot and he knows it.”

“Don’t bother crushing—he doesn’t do relationships. Or repeats.”

And now, fate—or a cruel housing algorithm—had paired me with him. Just great.

I dragged my suitcase across the floor and sat on the edge of the bare bed, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. My sketchpad peeked out of my bag, already calling to me. Drawing calmed me. It gave me control when everything else felt too loud. I grabbed it, flipped to a fresh page, and started sketching the edge of the window, the way the late afternoon light cast shadows across the tile.

Click.

The door opened behind me.

I didn’t turn at first, but I felt it—heat, tension, the weight of someone’s eyes on the back of my neck. My pencil froze mid-line.

“Yo,” came a voice behind me. Deep. Smooth. Laced with just enough arrogance to make my skin prickle. “You Luca?”

I turned.

And everything inside me short-circuited.

He leaned against the doorframe like he was posing for a magazine cover—tall, muscular, tan skin stretched over a tight white T-shirt, dark hair slightly damp like he’d just come from practice, and piercing hazel eyes that flicked over me with interest. He wore a lazy smirk that said he was used to people looking—and liking what they saw.

My throat went dry.

“Y-Yeah,” I managed. “You’re Jace?”

He nodded and walked in like he owned the place. And maybe he did.

“Cool,” he said, tossing his duffel bag onto the floor. “Guess we’re roommates.”

He kicked the door shut and turned to face me, his smirk never leaving.

“I figured you’d be taller,” he added, glancing me up and down. “You’re kind of… small.”

My face burned. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there was a height requirement.”

He laughed—low and warm, like he hadn’t expected a comeback. “Okay, shy boy has some bite. I like that.”

I stood up, pretending to straighten the sheets on my bed just to avoid his eyes. “So, um… rules? We should probably set some.”

“Rules?” Jace dropped onto his bed—my bed, technically, the one I hadn’t claimed fast enough—and stretched out like he was modeling for a cologne ad. His shirt rode up slightly,