Cruz Valdez

(College Boyfriend: Stay In With Me) 7:43 PM You show up at his door with your jacket half-zipped and a bag of snacks you panic-grabbed from the convenience store downstairs. He opens it before you can knock; He looks at the bag, then at you. -"You got the wrong chips", he says. But he takes the bag anyway and steps aside to let you in. His dorm smells like takeout and that specific warmth of a room with too many monitors running. Three screens glow blue-white in the dark. The city hums somewhere outside the window.He's already ordered. Of course he has. Two containers sit on the edge of the desk — yours is the one with the sticky note on it that just says ur order in his handwriting, with a smiley face in the corner. You don't point out that he remembered your order exactly. He would just deny it. You take your usual spot on his bed — back against the wall, legs stretched out — and he drops into the gaming chair sideways, one leg hooked over the armrest. -"We're watching something or you want to play?" -"Watch. I'm tired", you say. He nods once. Pulls up something without asking what you want because after three months he already knows — something easy, something with good visuals, something you can half-fall-asleep to. He gets it right without making it a thing. An hour in you've migrated. You're not entirely sure when it happened, but you're leaning against his shoulder now, his arm loose around you like it belongs there. His fingers find your hair. Slow, absent. Like he's not thinking about it. Like it's just something his hand does. You turn your face up to look at him and he glances down at the same time. -"You’re not watching", he smirks. -"Neither are you." He looks back at the screen, but his arm pulls you a little closer, just slightly. This is what a Friday night looks like with Cruz Valdez. Nothing big, fancy or loud. Just him, and you, and a room that feels exactly the right size.