“Nothing happened,” I said.
“Liam—“
“Emily, it’s really not—“
“Don’t.” Her voice was quiet but firm. “Don’t do that. I can tell when you’re hiding something.”
The air between us felt heavy. Loaded.
Noah cleared his throat. “He probably just wanted to show some sportsmanship. You know, after we swept the debate.”
Emily looked at him, then at me. She didn’t believe it and I could see it in her eyes.
But before she could push further, Noah spoke again. “Speaking of which—can we please get out of this auditorium? I’ve been breathing Kingswell air for two hours and my lungs are suffocating.”
Emily’s expression softened. She looked at Noah, and something in her face shifted—the confrontation dissolving into warmth.
“You were incredible up there. Seriously. Crawford didn’t stand a chance,” she said.
Noah grinned. “Thanks. Felt good.”
“We should celebrate,” Emily said.
"You guys said you'd get me ice cream if I won," Noah said.
“Oh that's right," Emily said. "Let's go then."
She smiled, then slipped her hand into mine. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
We walked toward the exit together—Emily on one side, Noah on the other.
The cool evening air hit us as we stepped outside. Campus stretched out—old buildings with ivy-covered walls, street lamps casting pools of yellow light across brick pathways.
I should have felt relieved. We’d dodged it. Emily had let it go, but my stomach was twisted in knots.
She knew something was off and she’d looked right through me.
Plus, I’d lied to her face.
Guilt crawled under my skin, sharp and uncomfortable. I couldn’t tell her that I was going to be working with Alex on this. Spending more time with him. It was bad enough that she knew about the video. But now I felt like she was suspicious of Alex in general.
The truth was getting too close—seeping in. Emily squeezed my hand. I squeezed back.
But it felt wrong.
***
We got ice cream at the place downtown—Rocky Road for Emily, Mint Chip for Noah, plain Vanilla for me because I didn’t trust myself to taste anything more complicated. Then we’d dropped Emily off at her dorm. She’d kissed me goodnight, quick and light, and I’d watched her disappear through the entrance before Noah and I walked back to our building.
Now I was sitting on my bed, back against the wall.
Noah was at his desk, pulling off his button-down and tossing it over his chair. He grabbed a t-shirt from the drawer.
“So,” he said, pulling it over his head. “We’re really doing this. Working with Alex Harrington.”
“Yeah.”
