Elvie
"Wait, wait, Elvie, come again. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say." Gemma leaned across the small table, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. "You’re telling me you left Asher’s house, applied for a live-in job, and boom it turns out to be Professor Reed’s place? As in... the hot professor?"
I stopped sipping my lemonade mid-swallow. The university cafeteria was buzzing with the noise of the afternoon lunch rush, cutlery clattering against trays and voices echoing off the tall glass windows. "Gemma, keep your voice down!" I whispered frantically, clutching my cup. "What if someone hears you?"
"Because this is completely insane!" she yelled-whispered, throwing her hands up in disbelief. "I’m trying to wrap my head around this. How is that even possible? You slept in that man’s house! Wait... what does he look like without a shirt on?"
"Gemma, please!" Embarrassed heat instantly rushed back into my cheeks.
"Okay, okay!" She raised her hands in surrender, though a wild grin still tugged at her lips.
Then she leaned back, her face softening into something a little more serious. "But let’s be real for a second. How on earth can someone be all warm and attentive to you one night, and then act totally ice-cold the next morning? What is living in his house even going to be like?"
Honestly, I was still reeling from it myself. His coldness this morning had stung, but deep down, maybe his sharp shift in attitude was actually a good thing.
We had clear boundaries now. The strange, electrifying pull he had over me. The terrifying way he made my heart race just by standing too close was dangerous. Sticking strictly to the rules was the safest way through this. I was trying to start over and completely move on from the mess I left behind with Asher, not tumble into another complicated situation.
"I’m just going to stick to the rules," I said, meeting her eyes. "And please, Gemma, this stays between us. He made it very clear that nobody on campus can ever find out I live under his roof."
Gemma reached across the table and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "You don’t have to worry about that. Why am I your best friend if I can’t keep a secret? Your secret is totally safe with me."
She picked up her straw, taking a sip of her drink before looking back up at me. "Anyway... what’s going to happen now with you and Asher?"
A heavy knot tightened in my chest at his name. "What happened, happened. I’m done. Right now, I’m just trying to figure out how to get my stuff from the mansion. I can’t survive on just two outfits."
"What if you call Asher and ask him to bring your clothes?" Gemma offered.
"Are you crazy?" I glared at her in shock. "Call Asher? Absolutely not. Let’s not even go there."
"Alright, alright, bad idea," Gemma muttered softly. She reached down, picking up her phone off the table and began scrolling.
"What the..." Gemma trailed off out loud.
"What is it now, Gemma?" I asked, setting my lemonade down.
She turned her phone screen around and shoved it toward my face.
Staring back at me was a photo of Asher with his hands wrapped around Lexi’s waist, their lips pressed together right outside a crowded sports bar downtown.
Is the star hockey player finally making it official with his new flame?
A sharp, cold sting pierced straight through the center of my chest. It wasn’t heartbreak anymore, it was the bitter realization that while I was struggling to find a place to sleep, he hadn’t wasted a single second moving on.
Gemma immediately pulled the phone back and reached across the table, covering my shaking hand with hers. "Hey... I’m sorry. You’re going to be fine, Elvie. He’s a jerk."
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and forced a small, tight nod. "Yeah. I know." I cleared my throat, pulling my hand back and picking up my phone. "Come on, let’s get moving. We have class, and I don’t want to be late."
Gemma grabbed her belongings, a teasing grin suddenly creeping back onto her lips as she fell into step behind me. "I know, right? Can’t be late for the hot professor... AKA your employer."
I spun around, shooting her a deadly glare. "Shut the fuck up."
She just chuckled, zipping her lips as we made our way out of the noisy cafeteria and down the long glass hallway toward the lecture hall.
As we rounded the corner, students were already cramming through the double doors, whispering hurriedly to one another as they rushed to take their seats.
I checked my phone, there were still three minutes left before class officially started.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. "He’s already inside."
Of course he was. The man was terrifyingly punctual.
Gemma and I practically scrambled through the doorway, slipping past the latecomers and darting up the tiered steps toward our usual row. My heart was pounding against my ribs as I pulled out my notebook and sank into my seat.
Once I was settled, I involuntarily lifted my head and looked down toward the front of the hall.
Cassian was standing behind the heavy wooden podium, organizing a stack of papers. The sharp memory of his cold, clipped tone from this morning flashed through my mind, but the moment his dark eyes slowly rose and locked directly onto mine, all my resentment completely evaporated.
That same electric, breathless flutter exploded in my stomach. The sheer weight of his gaze kept me pinned to my seat, making my blood run hot under my skin.
He didn’t say a word, but as our eyes held across the crowded room, the faint, nearly imperceptible corner of his lips curved upward into a slow smirk.
God help me, I thought, clutching my pen so tightly my knuckles turned white. I am never going to survive this.