“What I should’ve done many summers ago. I’m taking Yesoh home. She’s too drunk to stay here,” he said, his tone clipped.
Cahya crossed his arms, his expression sceptical. “Why is that your call to make?”
“It’s not but I want her to choose her own safety.” Wynter shot back, his voice firm. Then he glanced back at me, “Yesoh, choose.”
Cahya raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you care so much what my sister does at the club? I thought we were all looking out for each other, and I’m pretty sure she’s safe with me—”
“You’vebeen drinking too.” Wynter reminded him.“ Therefore It’s not up for debate,”
Cahya’s eyes narrowed, his gaze flicking between us. “You’re awfully intense about this. Do you even hear yourself?”
Wynter didn’t answer, but the way he avoided his gaze said everything.
“Yesohplease, let me take you home. I know you’re angry with me but let me care for you,” he said again, his voice softer but no less determined.
Wynter was desperate, desperate for me to forsake all else and choose him, I recognized that In his eyes, it was almost as if that longing had left mine and dissolved into his gaze.
I could see it in the way his jaw tightened when I tried to pull away, in the way his shoulders tensed as he blocked Arjuna from stepping in. It wasn’t just anger—it was something deeper, something that made his voice shake when he said my name.
“You’re drunk,” he’d said, but it sounded more likeYou’re in danger. And when Cahya challenged him, his answers were quick, and defensive, his gaze darting to me like he was scared of what she might figure out.
Cahya was shocked and so was everyone else by the sheer determination Wynter displayed.
“Alright calm down Wyn, Soh he's right you should get a safe ride home.” Sydney intervened playing the good cop.
“But if you ever interrupt a girl's night out for my best friend again I’ll break your neck,” Remi warned him.
It wasn’t just the words he couldn’t say; it was the way he stood too close, the way his eyes locked onto mine like they were searching for something—maybe proof I was okay, or maybe permission to fall apart.
Even when we got outside, his desperation lingered. He hovered near me, his hands twitching as if he wanted to reach out but wasn’t sure if he should.
I just followed him to the car and closed my eyes.
26
Think It, Mean It, Say It
Wynter’s hand rested gently against the small of my back as we stumbled into my dorm building. The hallway lights felt too bright, the stark contrast to the pulsing club a little dizzying. I leaned into him more than I meant to, but the world swayed less when he was close.
“Youare so so sotall…” I giggled, blinking up at him as he swiped my key card to unlock the elevator.
“That’s not exactly a unique observation, Yesoh,” Wynter replied, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“I bet you can see the tops of everyone’s heads. What’s it like up there? Do you feel superior?”
He didn’t answer, just shook his head as we stepped inside the elevator. I caught the flicker of a smile, though, and it made me grin.
When the doors closed, I let myself sag against the wall. “Why are you even here? Do you not have anything better to do like you always do, a shoot, a date?”
“Nothing else holding my attention tonight,” he said dryly. “Just you.”
I frowned at him. “That doesn’t make sense. I’m aterribleplan.”
He sighed and glanced down at me, his voice soft. “You’re never a terrible plan.”
“You don’t know that,” I warned him, “I could be the most horrible person ever and you wouldn’t even know.”
“I feel I have known you far too long for me to think so low of your character.” He assured me as guilt knotted the depths of my stomach. “You wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone.”
