“Hello!” announced a voice just as the three of us were discussing our spice tolerance.
Before I could turn around, Leo arrived beside me, slapping a hand on my back in greeting. As he introduced himself, I took in the sight of him. His hair was wavier than usual, as if he’d styled it with some kind of spray. He was wearing a jacket, but underneath it —
“Did you come from the gym?” I asked.
“Huh?” he followed my gaze to the black compression shirt he was wearing. A long pause. “Yes.”
I tore my eyes away from the way the shirt emphasised the bulge of his pecs and returned my attention to the group. Atticus looked pleased to see Leo. Elena looked at him like he was a fascinating species of alien.
“We’re having hot pot,” Elena told him. “Have you ever had it before?”
“No, I haven’t. I’m excited, though!”
“It’s down this way,” Atticus said, leading us into Chinatown. It was similar to every other street in Melbourne, except there was more red — red paint, red lanterns and decorations in the windows, and red on menus to illustrate different levels of spice.
Elena fell into step beside Atticus, and something about watching the pair of them walk made me wonder if they were siblings.
“How’d you sleep?” I asked Leo.
“Good! I slept until twelve, and then I had to run to my class.”
“And you managed to submit everything?”
“Yeah, I did it last night before I went to sleep.” He slung an arm around my shoulders. “Thanks for helping me.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, waving a hand.
“Are you feeling intimidated?” he asked softly.
“Maybe a little.” I shrugged, which inadvertently nudged his arm off my shoulders. His slipped his hand down to my waist.
“Don’t be,” he murmured. “You look good, Winnie.”
For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t breathe. Then, I saw Atticus and Elena turn to look at us in my periphery, and I batted Leo away.
“How many times do I have to tell you that’s not my nickname?” I asked, praying that if I pretended to be annoyed, it’d hide how flustered I was.
“You can’t stop me, Winnie,” Leo replied with a laugh. “Winnie, Winnie, Winnie —”
“Leo,” Elena called.
We both stiffened like we were back in high school and had been caught breaking the rules.
Elena pointed to a spot beside her. “Come here and talk to me. You’re supposed to be my date, after all.”
Leo trotted off, though not before turning around and mouthing “Winnie” once more at me.
I scowled at him but quickly turned it to a yawn when I noticed Atticus lingering so he could fall into step beside me.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“The restaurant’s just a few more minutes down this street,” he said.
“Have you been there before?”
“Yeah, it’s our favourite hot pot place,” he said.
