The words are teasing. Flirtatious. The kind of thing you say as a joke, not a genuine offer.
But Etienne does not treat it like a joke.
His lips curl into a slow, genuine smile. Those storm-blue eyes warm with something that makes my breath catch and my heart do a stupid little flip.
"Sure."
The word drops into the silence like a stone into still water, sending ripples through the entire room.
Cal's jaw drops. Rafe's head snaps toward his packmate so fast I am surprised he does not give himself whiplash.
"WHAT?" they both say at the same time, their voices blending into a chorus of disbelief.
I blink, equally caught off guard.
"Wait. Are you serious?"
Etienne shrugs, completely unbothered by the chaos he has just created.
"Why not? Let us go on a date. Regardless of what happens over the next couple of weeks." He tilts his head, a hint of playfulness entering his expression. "I mean, as long as we are not mortal enemies by then."
I laugh despite myself, the sound surprised and genuine.
"Oh, an enemies-to-lovers arc." I press a hand to my chest dramatically. "How grand. How romantic. How very romance novel of you."
Something flickers in his expression. Interest, maybe. Or recognition.
"Do you actually like to read books?"
The question is so unexpected, so disconnected from the charged atmosphere of the room, that it takes me a moment to process.
"I..." I pause, thinking about it. Really thinking, for the first time in years. "Honestly? I used to adore reading. When I was younger, I would devour books like they were oxygen. Romance, fantasy, mystery, everything I could get my hands on. I wouldstay up until three in the morning hiding under my covers with a flashlight, desperate to find out what happened next."
A bittersweet smile tugs at my lips.
"I do not really know what happened. When I stopped. Life got busy, I guess. Or maybe I just lost the joy in it somewhere along the way. Lost myself in trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be instead of who I actually was."
I shrug, trying to shake off the melancholy threatening to settle over me.
"Maybe this school will help me figure that out. Along with everything else."
Etienne is looking at me with an expression I cannot quite decipher. Something soft. Something deep. Like he understands exactly what I mean in a way that most people would not.
"Well," he says slowly, "maybe we can explore that together. Once we settle in."
My interest perks up immediately.
"Explore reading?"
"Reading. Writing." He shrugs, a hint of shyness entering his expression that makes him look younger, more vulnerable. "I like to write. Here and there. Stories, mostly. Nothing published or anything, but it is important to me."
My eyes widen.
"Really?" I take a step closer, genuinely intrigued. "Do you want to become an author? Like, professionally?"
"I... have not really thought about it seriously." He glances away, that shyness deepening. "Like I said, no one has ever really asked about goals or dreams or what we actually want out of our lives."
"Well, I am asking," I interrupt, my voice firm. "What do you write? What genre? Have you finished anything? Can I read it sometime?"
