I hated Roman Sterling. I hated that two-faced, arrogant jerk. It wasn't enough that he stole my projects, poached my clients, and blocked my promotion. He actually! Dared to take my most precious possession! The moment the bed frame snapped, my soul felt like it left my body. I was bleeding in two places at once. My voice was gone, my vision blurred by steam and sweat. My last memory of that night was Roman gripping my neck, panting heavily into my ear, and chuckling: "You're amazing, babe." The next morning, I woke up with my hands around his throat, threatening him: "If a third person finds out about this, you are dead meat!" A few months later, looking at my slightly protruding belly. Roman scratched his head, looking pained. "I didn't think biology worked that way for us." "Can you maybe spare the baby daddy's life?" 01 I hated Roman Sterling. He was a world-class jerk. Usually, I could tolerate him stealing my thunder at work. But sleeping with me? That was a bridge too far. When the bed collapsed, I think my dignity went with it. I have a secret. A medical anomaly. And that night, Roman discovered it in the most invasive way possible. 02 I learned a valuable lesson freshman year of college: Roman is a menace. Day one of orientation, we ended up in the same dorm room. We both wanted the bottom bunk. After arguing for twenty minutes, he suddenly smirked lazily. "If you want to be under me that badly, I'll allow it." Our other two roommates burst out laughing. I was furious. I threw my suitcase onto the top bunk and glared at him. "Fine. I'm taking the top. Deal with it." Roman just smiled and happily made his bed. Later that night at the dorm mixer, Roman sat next to me. He leaned in, whispering with a grin: "Cam, top or bottom doesn't matter." "It's what's inside that counts." It took me ten full seconds to realize what this pervert was implying. My face went nuclear red. When a roommate asked what was wrong, Roman casually picked up a cream puff and held it to my mouth. "He ate something spicy. Here, have something sweet to neutralize it." I was so mad I bit down on the puff—pretending it was Roman’s finger. Filling exploded everywhere, all over my face. Roman took a wet wipe and cleaned me up, spot by spot. Some genius took a photo. Because of the angle, it looked... suggestive. Roman’s knuckles, my red face, the white cream. That photo hit the campus social app instantly. The thread got three thousand comments overnight. My reputation as a straight man took a critical hit. For the first semester, everywhere I went, people teased: "Cameron, where's your boyfriend?" I reported the thread for harassment every day for a month until it was taken down. I thought graduation meant freedom. I thought tossing my cap meant tossing Roman Sterling out of my life. Day one at the new firm. I looked up from my cubicle and nearly passed out. Roman was sitting right across from me, flashing that same devilish grin. 03 I opened my eyes and felt like my face was buried in a cloud. I moved my head groggily, my lips brushing against something warm. The person next to me groaned. Once my vision cleared, I froze. My body ached in places it shouldn't. I realized my head was buried in Roman’s chest. And judging by the red marks, I’d been there a while. Just as I was about to knock myself out and pretend this was a nightmare, he opened his eyes. We locked gazes. He smirked. "Morning, babe." Babe? This trash. The first thing he does is flirt. I swung a fist at his face. He caught it effortlessly with his palm, using the momentum to flip us over so he was hovering above me. "Whoa there. Why so aggressive?" His tone wasn't accusing. It was soft. Almost... pitiful. Like he was pouting. Flashes of last night hit me. My throat felt dry. Roman lowered his head. The moment our noses touched, I sobered up. I grabbed his neck and flipped us again, pinning him down. I squeezed, watching his face turn slightly red. "I'm warning you. If you tell anyone that I'm..." I couldn't say the word. Intersex. "I will end you." He didn't speak. Once I had my pants on, Roman lit a cigarette. He blew a smoke ring toward me, smiling through the haze. "Then be gentle with me, husband. I'm sensitive." 04 I scrubbed my skin raw in the shower, trying to wash off the scent of Roman Sterling. But whenever I closed my eyes, I could hear him. His voice, whispering in my ear. Calling me "babe." It made me sick. I didn't sleep until 3 AM. I dragged myself to the office Monday morning looking like a zombie. The moment I hit my desk, I smelled cologne. Cedar and spice. Roman was walking toward me in a crisp white shirt, top button undone, looking annoyingly fresh. "What do you want?" I snapped. "You look tired. I made you coffee." "Damn it, are you stalking me? Are you sick? Did you poison this so I'd miss the morning meeting? I'm telling you, that project is mine!" I felt smug, thinking I'd seen through his plot. A female colleague nearby giggled. "You guys are too much." Roman’s eyes darkened. He set the coffee down and walked away. I suddenly remembered college. He used to do this too. He’d buy breakfast for the whole room. Save seats. He even did my laundry once when I left it in the basket too long. Was he actually... nice? Ha. Believe Roman is a nice guy? Or believe I’m actually gay? He probably put bleach in my laundry. At the meeting, Roman told the boss that my plan was better suited for the new client. He voluntarily stepped back. I was confused. Was he compensating me for that night? The thought made me shudder. Can't we just get partial amnesia? We are both grown men. There's nothing to compensate! I decided to confront him. During lunch, I dragged him into the break room like a thief. 05 "Look, Roman. We have some... history. But we're bros, right? Don't..." I stammered, my face heating up. "Anyway, I'm not a girl. You don't need to compensate me. Let's just go back to normal. We argue, we compete." "We stay enemies." Roman laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So, I hit a home run, and now you want to send me back to the dugout?" "What home run? What..." Before I could finish, Roman stepped in. He kneed my legs apart, pinned my wrists against the wall, and loomed over me. The scent of cedar was overwhelming. "Who said it was unpleasant? That night, I enjoyed it... thoroughly." My face exploded with heat. "Get the hell away from me!" Roman chuckled. "Cam, people have been spreading rumors about us for years. Why don't we just make it real?" "My father raised a straight man! Straighter than a steel beam!" I roared. Just then, the break room door swung open. Some colleagues walked in on us in a very compromising position. One of the girls gasped, covered her mouth, and frantically flashed us an 'OK' sign. "We didn't see anything!" "Door's closed! Carry on! Don't let us ruin the mood!" I watched them flee in despair. I could predict my reputation for the next ten years—the closeted office romance king. 06 That afternoon, I went to Sarah at the next desk. "Sarah, switch seats with me? I'll buy you lunch." I couldn't look at Roman's resentful face anymore. Avoiding him was cowardly, but effective. Sarah looked at me, then at Roman, and smiled knowingly. "Couple's quarrel? No way am I moving. Look at his handsome face, you'll forgive him eventually." Not only did I fail to move, but I also got humiliated. Why does everyone assume he's the top? The world has a serious misunderstanding about me! It rained, and then it poured. The boss announced a bonus. A trip for two to Hawaii. "You two worked hard this half. Go relax. Come back refreshed." I felt dead inside. Roman took the tickets and raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry. I won't ruin your mood." "You find a friend to go with. I'll just stay in the hotel and sleep." Was he that nice? I debated internally. I wanted to go, but it felt like a trap. But then my brain short-circuited. "You... don't want to go with me?" I wanted to slap myself. Why did that sound like an invitation? Roman looked up slowly. He smiled, a look I couldn't decipher. 07 How did it end up like this? I was hiding in the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Is the company going bankrupt? Why only one room? And why a King bed? The boss is a cheapskate. Roman knocked. "You done? I need to go." You're in a rush? I'm not mentally prepared! "Yeah... okay." I walked out awkwardly. Roman didn't even look at me. He went in and locked the door. He really just needed the toilet. I felt stupid for worrying. When I got dressed, I saw he had built a pillow fort down the middle of the bed. I paused. Right. We are enemies. This is normal. So why was I annoyed? That night, we lay back to back. Roman fell asleep instantly. I couldn't sleep. Fragments of memories floated up. Sophomore year track meet. I sprained my ankle. Roman ran the 1500m for me, then collapsed by my wheelchair. The time my scholarship was delayed. He dragged me to the admin office and yelled at them until they fixed it. There were so many quiet moments buried under the noise of our rivalry. "Roman Sterling, you jerk," I whispered into the dark. He sighed. He moved the pillow barrier. "Go to sleep, idiot." "I can't." "Your breathing is too loud." Roman laughed low in his throat. "Stupid. That's your heartbeat." In the silence, my ears burned.
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