Dulce

I do as he asks, lying with my face towards the windows. He hasn’t drawn the blinds, so I can see the stars shining above me, making me wonder if they are judging me as hard as I’m judging myself.

I hear Aslanov moving around the living room and the sound of the sofa creaking as it’s being folded away.

I keep staring out the window until he puts a glass of water on the bedside table next to me and climbs in behind me.

“Just sleep. Tomorrow everything won’t feel quite so real. Almost like it was a dream. I’ve put the bed and blankets away, and I’ll tell the others you crashed at Sarah’s for the night. Nobody will ever know if you don’t want them to.”

I blow out a breath, realizing what’s done is done. Worrying about it now won’t change anything.

He must feel me relax because he rolls toward me and wraps an arm around my waist. “Just sleep, Everly. I’ve got you.”

And surprisingly, I do.

When I wake up, the house is quiet. The clock shows it’s ten in the morning, but I don’t have a class today until two. There is no need for me to hurry, which is just as well.

I sit up gingerly and stretch before climbing out of Aslanov’s bed.

A dull ache between my legs won’t let me forget what happened last night, but Aslanov was right. With the morning came clarity.

I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t hold Cain accountable for what he did while he was asleep, either. He didn’t force himself on me. I wanted him. I let him in and, putting everything else aside, I don’t regret it.

I make myself a toasted bagel and some coffee and eat it on the balcony, watching the light breeze blow through the trees. It’s soothing out here. Quiet, away from the chaos. I need it to recharge and to give myself time to get my mind back on track.

Once I’m done, I head inside and spend a couple hours cleaning before getting changed and heading to class. I think about calling one of my girls to check in, just to hear one of their voices, but I think they’ll know something is off with me, so I leave it for now.

I’m okay. Everything is going to be okay.

I go to class and listen to the teacher drone on. If you ask me what he lectured about now that it’s over, I couldn’t tell you. My mind is a million miles away.

When an arm drops around my shoulder, I jump before looking up at Scott and his infectious smile.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Wallowing in a pit of despair, you?”

“Taking names and breaking hearts.”

I smile despite myself. “Oh, really? Anyone I know?”

“I mean, this feels like a trick question, new girl. Does anyone ever really know someone these days?”

I groan. “You’re going to be one of those people, aren’t you? That sits on your deck with a scowl on your face and a pipe in your hand shouting in my day...”

He laughs loudly, drawing the attention of the girls nearest to us. One of them smiles at us while the other sneers.

“Please, I’ll be on an island somewhere being fed grapes by Swedish twins.”

“I can see you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“More than you really want to know.” He sighs.

“Oh, ew. Keep your sticky sock stories to yourself.”

He grins, tugs me closer, and presses a kiss to my temple. “You finished for the day?”

“Yeah, I only had one class today.”

“Sweet. Wanna go for a drive and grab some burgers? I know a great spot that looks like an ad for salmonella poisoning on the outside, but I kid you not, they really do have the best burgers I’ve ever tasted.”

“Well…that’s some claim. Tell me, am I okay dressed like this, or should I slip into something a little more appropriate, like, say, a hazmat suit?”

“While I appreciate the full-body coverage of yellow BioHazard apparel as much as the next guy, sexy schoolgirl, always wins out.”

“Of course it does. It’s the easy access skirt, right?”

“Among many other things, yes,” he agrees, steering me toward the parking lot.

He keeps up the chatter as he drives us to the dive burger place, making me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. It’s exactly what I needed today.

“So, tell me, what did you think?”

I wipe my mouth and swallow before taking a sip of my Coke.

“Amazing. But maybe you should ask me in another twelve to forty-eight hours just to be sure.”

“That’s probably the smartest choice. You wanna head back now or maybe go watch a movie or something?”

I pause for a minute, wondering if I might have misinterpreted this whole friendship thing.

“Like a date?”

“Why do you have poo face when you say that?”

I snort and almost choke to death on my drink.