“Take it,” he urged. “I want you to have it. And if you like it, I’ll get you some of their newer stuff. If you don’t have a CD player, I can get you one. Or a record player. Or a diamond ring, if you’d—”
“Please don’t.”
“Too late. I’m already saving,” he said cheerfully.
She bit her lip, then—against her better judgment—took the CD.
Mel’s gaze flicked between them. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said slowly, “but how exactly did you guys get to talking? You never actually told me.”
Kian brightened. “Funny story, actually. So Riya accidentally cast this—”
Riya clapped a hand over his mouth. “He never tells it right. But there’s not much to say.”
Beside her, Kian’s eyes went vaguely delirious.
“Uh, RiRi?” Mel whispered. “I don’t think he can breathe.”
“Oh.” Riya let go. “Sorry.”
Kian gave her a lopsided smile. “That was... incredible. Your hand smells like jasmine. And soap. Like if clean were a smell. Honestly, if that was the last thing I ever smelled, I’d die happy. Do it again, but this time, what if you put your hand on my neck and squee—”
“Okay, we’re done here!” Riya interjected. “Go to class.”
“Your wish is my command,” Kian said with a wink. “Enjoy the CD. I got way more where that came from.”
Riya gave him a confused look, but he was already walking away.
Suddenly, the bell rang; students began to scramble to their classrooms.
Mel shook her head as they walked. “Gosh, he’s so muchfriendlierthan I realized. It’s like he’s a different person. What even happened to him?”
Riya looked down at the CD case still in her hand.
If she told Mel now, there’d be no going back. No more pretending she could handle this alone. And what could Mel even do? Nothing would undo the damage. Nothing would stop her from feeling like a fool.
“Maybe love really does transform people,” Riya said, a weak whisper in the emptying hall.
Mel didn’t reply at first. Her brow pinched, like she was weighing her words.
Then, finally, she smiled.
“I hope so,” she said.
Chapter 16
The Abbersett High soccer team had, as usual, clinched a spot in the district playoffs. But now, with all their top players being seniors, tonight’s game was their last real shot to win districts and reach the regional championship.
The stadium throbbed: five thousand students, parents, and alumni packed the bleachers; the field was slick from rain and twinkling under the floodlights. Coordinating volunteers, food trucks, ticketing—it had been a logistical nightmare, but somehow, Riya had done it.
The cheerleading squad had just finished their final stunt as Niko Voss, an enthusiastic—and enthusiastically sweaty—junior paraded onto the field in a falcon mascot costume.
Riya stepped up to the mic beside Quin.
It had been Quin’s idea to give a pep talk before kickoff.Emotional support from Student Council is a key responsibility, they’d said. And as much as Riya could think of a dozen better uses of her time, she actually agreed.
“Let me just say how proud we are of our soccer team,” Quin told the crowd, grinning. Riya stood a step back. “But I refuse to say ‘good luck.’ Because one thing’s clear: We don’t need it!”
Right on cue, Niko Voss let out a booming “Caw CAW!”
