Chapter 10: I must be going crazy
The dorm door creaked open, and the familiar scent of laundry detergent and faint wood polish hit me. It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it was home. Aiden’s voice broke through my little moment.
"Should we use one of the empty rooms? Nobody goes there anyway."
I perked up instantly, my excitement bubbling over. "Yes! Perfect for a drinking session. Finally!"
Honestly, I’d been craving this for weeks fried chicken, a couple of drinks, and no looming deadlines hanging over my head. If I had wings, I’d probably have flapped them right there.
Leonel, however, wasn’t sharing the mood. His eyes stayed on me steady, unblinking, like he was reading something I hadn’t written down. Normally, it would’ve made my skin crawl, but right now? My brain was too wired on the thought of cracking open a drink to notice the weight of his gaze.
We dropped our bags and carried the stash into one of the unused rooms. It smelled a little dusty, but it had enough space for us to sit cross-legged on the floor around the low table. I set the chicken down with an exaggerated flourish, as if I’d just presented a feast to royalty.
"Gimme a second," I announced. "I need to change. Feels gross staying in the same clothes all day."
Aiden snorted, grabbing one of the paper bags. "I’m fine in this clothes only so you go chnage."
I pulled a face and stuck my tongue out at him. "Oh, look at you, Mr. Stinky. Guess I’ll be the only fresh one tonight."
He burst out laughing, and I trotted off with a grin, heading into my room.
Aiden’s POV
The moment Cassian disappeared, I bent down to unpack the drinks, setting the bottles neatly in a row. Leonel crouched across from me, arranging glasses with the kind of precision that seemed too careful for someone as effortlessly confident as him.
But it wasn’t the glasses he was focused on. His eyes kept straying to the door Cassian had gone through, sharp and intent. I noticed it almost immediately, and something about it needled me.
Why was he looking at Cass like that?
I swallowed the question, trying to shake the weird tug in my chest. Instead, I asked the safer one. "So... what do you think about Cassian? You wanted to meet him because you thought he’d be some... well, you know, a guy who’d take advantage of me, right?"
Leonel didn’t answer at once. He sat there, silent, thinking longer than I expected. The pause stretched to nearly a full minute, and then finally, he exhaled.
"Well, yes. At first, I thought he was just some guy trying to use you. But..." He stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly as though searching for the right words. "Now that I’ve met him, he’s... not that bad." A small shrug. "I like him."
The words hit harder than I thought they would. My stomach twisted. Like him?
As a friend? As someone trustworthy? Or something else?
Before I could pin down the thought, the door swung open.
Cassian walked in, his hair still damp from washing his face, dressed in loose black shorts and a plain white t-shirt that brushed his thighs. Simple. Comfortable. Yet somehow... it made him look even softer, almost unfairly cute.
Heat rushed through me so fast my brain stuttered. Cute? Wait-what?
I shook my head, trying to clear it, but then I caught Leonel’s expression.
He was staring again only this time, his face carried the faintest flush. Just a touch of pink dusting his sharp cheekbones.
The sight pulled something uncomfortable in me, a pinch of irritation that made me suck in a sharp breath.
I tore my gaze away, muttering under my breath, "I must be going crazy."
But when Cassian dropped onto the floor with that bright smile, laughing as he opened the box of chicken, the air shifted thicker, charged.
Three people, one room, and way too many unspoken things.
And I had the sinking feeling tonight was going to change everything.