Because every few seconds, without warning, my brain flashes right back to him. To Gio’s hands on my face, that fucking lip ring pressing into me, the soft moan he made when I kissed him back.
I groan and squeeze my eyes shut, rubbing them like that’ll somehow erase the memory.
Nope. Stop.
You’re not into guys. You’renot. You’re into girls. You’ve always been into girls. This is just... the body reacting.
Right? I mean, I had my eyes closed. That’s a thing.
That counts. That could’ve been anyone. Technically. It’s just the kiss that does it.
That’s it. The contact. The friction. The heat.
I slap my hand against my mouth and exhale hard.
Jesus Christ. I can’t stay in here forever. I can’t go out there either. I’m stuck between erection and existential crisis. I grip the edge of the sink and look up at myself in the mirror.
My face is red. My lips are visibly swollen.
I look like someone who’s been kissed stupid.
Because I have. By Gio Fontana. And apparently, I liked it. God help me, I wanted it.
Even though he’s a man. A MAN.
I want to cry and throw up at the same time.
I lean my forehead against the mirror. I am so, so fucked.
"Rava?"
I spin toward the door.
Christ. It feels like he’s calling my name the same way my assignments do. The ones that are impossible to ignore.
"...yeah?"
"You alive? I’m bored. I don’t like talking to my bathroom door."
I drag a hand through my hair. It calms me.
Okay. I’m not that hard anymore. Thank God. I breathe out, step to the door, and crack it open slowly. I look down.
He’s sitting on the floor with his knees up.
Back against the wall. He lifts a hand toward me.
"Help me up?"
I give him mine, stupid mistake. Because instead of pulling himself up, he yanks me down. Right in front of him.
Our knees touch. I don’t even have the energy to fight him. I just settle on the floor like a defeated houseplant.
I stare at literally everything that is not his face.
The wall. The floor. My own knees. I bite my lip from nerves, and I refuse, REFUSE to look at his. Which is insane, because I can still feel them on mine.
"Um, the fact you ran straight into the bathroom," he says, "means we’ve got work to do." He leans his elbow on his knee, tilting his head toward me. "And lucky for you?" He smirks. "I’ve got time today."
