Before I could even say anything, he leaned in, his voice low and warm enough to melt every ounce of morning chill.
“Good morning, Princess.”
And then he kissed me. Just a small kiss. A quick brush of his lips against mine. My breath hitched. My heart? Gone. Absolutely gone.
He pulled back slightly, eyes flickering down at me, soft and warm, that same look that always made my chest feel too small. Then his gaze lifted to the girls behind me. And that’s when I felt it: the heavy silence, the three sets of wide eyes burning into the back of my head.
Jennie’s jaw dropped first. Aly blinked as if she were glitching. Layla? Layla’s cup actually tilted, nearly spilling coffee down her wrist. All still processing the fact that the campus’s coldest man just called me princess and kissed me like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Oh no.
There’s no hiding it now.
—
Joshua
It was a little past four when I checked my watch again. The parking lot was starting to empty out, students laughing, calling out to each other, the usual chaos of the end of the day. I leaned against the car, arms crossed, tapping my thumb against the keys in my hand. She was taking her time.
Then I saw her.
Aurora, parting ways with her friends by the gate. The girls blew exaggerated kisses at her, and she waved back, cheeks pink, smile shy and small. She was still red when she turned her head and spotted me waiting by the car.
I straightened immediately.
As she got closer, I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you look like you just ran a marathon? The girls interrogate you or something? Because Jennie was blowing up my phone the whole day.”
She shook her head, trying to hide her face behind her hair. “No.”
That was definitely a lie.
I frowned but walked around to open the passenger door anyway. “Then what was it?”
Her blush deepened as she clutched her bag. “Okay, maybe a little.”
I watched her for a moment, that shy, nervous energy she had when she didn’t want to tell me something, before shutting the door for her and circling around to the driver’s side.
I got in, started the car, and reached over to rest my hand on her thigh as if it belonged there.
Which it did.
She didn’t move away; she never did anymore. Just stayed there, small and red and fidgeting with her sleeve.
“Alright, Princess,” I said, voice low as I drove out the gate. “Tell me. What kind of questions did they ask?”
She looked out the window. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Just how? When and why?”
I glanced at her, “Why? What’s that supposed to mean—"
Oh.
Actually never mind, I get that.
Why are you with him? Blah blah, yeah I deserve that.
