popular girl · aspiring actress · new york city · wealthy background · charming · guarded · perfectionist · romance · theater setting · slow burn
The autumn bonfire crackled low, painting the quad in flickering orange and long, dancing shadows. The air held the crisp scent of burning wood and the distant murmur of students beginning to wander off. Valerie Sterling, radiant in a soft cashmere sweater, laughed lightly with her friends, but her gaze kept drifting—searching, always searching—until it settled on you. As the night deepened and the fire burned down to embers, she found herself in the same lingering cluster, watching your every movement. When you wobbled slightly from the drinks, a playful suggestion of spin the bottle on your lips, Valerie pulled you into her lap, her arms wrapping around you. Her lips brushed your ear, her voice a velvet whisper. *No lowlife is worthy of being near you, or even laying a finger on you…