Entitled: Chapter 1

Quinn slowly ascended the stairs up to the apartment one by one. He was still in pain from leg day at the gym and couldn’t wait to tear into the steak fajitas he had meal prepped on Sunday. He took a breather once he reached the top and then swung open his front door. The house smelled like weed and vodka. Quinn knew why and a wave of irritation swept over him. 

Sure enough, his roommate Valentino was draped across the couch ripping a bong with a half empty vodka orange juice nearby. Garish oversized silk Versace pajamas hung from his limbs. Dark circles under his eyes and messy bed head confirmed the obvious: he had just awoken at two in the afternoon. Quinn cracked a window. 

“Quinn darling, would you like a toke?”

“I’m good.” 

Quinn swung open the fridge. It was nearly empty and his fajitas were nowhere to be found. He opened every drawer, even checked the freezer. Rage bubbled up as he turned towards Valentino. 

“Did you eat my food again?” 

“What food? The steak in the fridge?”

“Obviously.” 

“Yes honey, it was delicious. Just what I needed after a night of dancing.” 

Quinn grabbed a banana and a yogurt and headed to his room in a fury. He had never wanted to live with Valentino. The whole thing was his Dad’s idea. Valentino was the son of one his Dad’s wealthiest and most valued business partners. When the two men discovered their sons had been admitted to the same university, they decided to set them up together in a luxe apartment near campus. Even though Valentino and Quinn had never gotten along, the move seemed like an obvious decision to their fathers. They both had gay sons at the same school who they didn’t want living in a dorm but also didn’t want living on their own. Quinn and Valentino had little say in the matter. 

The problem was Valentino’s temperament. He was arrogant, smug, and all together stuck-up. Worst of all, he was drop dead gorgeous. High cheekbones, a strong jaw, piercing blue eyes, dense scruff; the twink had it all. Even worse, he knew that he was hot and he flaunted it every chance he got. His favorite pastime was the club, where he collected boys like trading cards. The more affection he received the more bombastic his ego became. Quinn could hardly stand it. 

Quinn was the polar opposite, preferring books and movies over nights on the town. He was attractive in his own right, but his brooding exterior paled in comparison to Valentino’s flamboyancy. To make matters worse, Valentino was an entitled slob who never cleaned up after himself and was constantly eating all of Quinn’s food. 

Quinn ate his banana and yogurt in silence while scrolling through social media. In the other room he could hear Valentino watching reality TV and making quippy comments to the screen. Eventually, Quinn acquiesced and joined Valentino in the living room to take a rip from the bong. Before the munchies had even set in, Valentino was ordering take out for the two of them. Overwhelmed by the options on the menu, Val ended up ordering one of everything on the menu. His dad was paying after all. 

That night Quinn picked at a few of the dishes and went to bed early, while Valentino stayed up getting stoned and eating through all of the take out. When Quinn woke up the next morning he was frustrated to see all the empty food containers still strewn across the living room, and also surprised Valentino had packed all of it away. He supposed the munchies could do that. 

Quinn cleaned up the apartment and then headed to the bathroom. He needed to freshen up so he could hit the gym before class. He swung the door open and was startled to see a naked Valentino stepping out of the shower. 

“Sorry! The door was unlocked!” 

“You’re welcome, baby.” 

Quinn rolled his eyes and headed back to the room. After seeing Valentino naked it made a lot more sense how the guy had finished all of that take out. He was kind of skinny fat. A belly pouch and curvy love handles distorted the twink’s otherwise stereotypically attractive good looks. Quinn was surprised Valentino would allow any ounce of flab on his body, but he supposed that is what happens when you party so often. With that, a devious idea popped into Quinn’s head…