“I just spent an hour getting burned because I suck at handling fire,” Wave said.She wanted to moan and whine, but held herself in check, mostly.“I hate fire.”
“Okay, I get your side of things.Now, to the shirt dilemma.I don’t have anything else, but we could swap shirts.”
“You won’t fit into my shirt,” Wave groaned.Salis’s smile was wide and devious.
“Guess I’ll be going shirtless then.”Before Wave had time to object, he pulled his pullover off and handed it to her.
“It’s not summer anymore!”She had to say something to pull her attention away from Salis’s stomach and the eight-pack it presented.
“It’s not winter either.I’ll be fine, Wayla.”
“I… but…” Wave pulled the shirt over her head and sighed.“Thanks!”
“Anything for you, buttercup!”
Wave sighed again, rubbing her eyes, and then continued walking.“I’ll never live this down,” she muttered when everyone turned to stare.As misdirections went, this was top-tier.Salis just threw his arm over her shoulders and kissed her hair.
“Don’t get any ideas, cupcake.I’m way out of your league.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, toffee bun.”
Ittookuntilthenext evening before Wave had a chance to talk with her roommates.She had evaded everyone but Salis the previous day, but now they were all sitting in the living room.
“So, tell me.”Wave looked at Diana.“What happened?”
Diana looked flustered.“He found me in the dining hall and cornered me alone.Well, Ginny was there, ready to blast his ass, but you know it wouldn’t have gone over well, so I agreed to listen to what he had to say.”
“Bastard,” Ginny interjected.“He knew she would cave to save my ass.”
“What did he have to say, then?”
“He said that he was sorry.That he made a mistake—”
“Idiot,” Ginny cut in again.“If it took him this long to realize he made a mistake, he’s an even bigger idiot than we thought.”
“Do you think he meant it?”Wave asked, carefully observing Diana.
“I-I think so.”
“Was that all he said?”Wave prodded.
“No.Well, yes.He went on and on about how sorry he was.”
“Do you think he’s trying to get back together with you?”It was Chrissy who dropped that conversational bomb into the mix.She was sitting on the floor, doing her stretches again.
“What?No!”
Wave focused on Chrissy.“Why do you think that?”
She looked disgusted when she spoke.“He broke up with Di over two years ago at the start of our first year.And now he’s apologizing?Smells fishy to me.”
“To be fair,” Diana hurried to say, “he has tried to talk to me several times this semester, but I’ve been avoiding him.”
“You are not taking him back,” Ginny’s words were an order if Wave ever had heard one.
“I’m not!I’m not interested in him,” Diane defended herself furiously, with flushed cheeks.
“But you are interested in someone,” Wave caught on.Well, her siren senses picked up on that thread.Diana paled and flushed in turns and looked balefully at Wave.
