“Sure,” I croaked, standing awkwardly as I began to strip. I had my black briefs on. They should be fine to swim in. Thank the gods, I wasn’t in my white briefs today. Casey would’ve seeneverything. Would he have blushed that pretty shade of pink? Or would he have averted his eyes like a gentleman? Somehow, I hoped he wouldn’t be able to look away.
I shook my head, staring at Casey as he ran towards the water, unaware that my thoughts had drifted to places they shouldn’t. We were friends. I would’ve known by now if he was truly mine. It was so like me to latch on to my first real friend here and hope for more. I was selfish like that, and couldn’t just be pleased with what I already had with him. That would change now. No more wandering thoughts. I would be the best friend Casey had ever had,even better than Harpy.
My legs tore through the sand as I ran after Casey, wading through the slightly cold waves as I caught up with him. I was laughing, feeling freer than ever as I attacked him, making us both fall under the sea water.
We broke back over the surface, both laughing and pushing one another. It slowly turned into a water fight; one Casey was definitely winning. I was simply too slow, whereas Casey could move in ways that seemed almost graceful considering we were hip deep in the ocean. The sun’s rays reflected on the water, the orange and red tones making it appear as though it was on fire.
My eyes found Casey’s as we both took a brief pause to catch our breath. His blue eyes reflected the orange glow from the sun, making them appear to glow. He looked like a god, mesmerizing and strong.
Casey tilted his head as I continued to stare at him. “What?” he asked, smiling softly.
“Nothing,” I breathed, remembering my silent promise. “Just feeling happy, I guess.”
His smile softened further. “I’m happy too.”
I beamed at that. Then hit him with a splash of water, ending our little truce.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Casey’s indignant tone had me cackling as I evaded his revenge hit, the water splashing behind me instead.
“Truce?” I asked, dodging another hit of water.
“Never!” Casey laughed, forgetting about water attacks as he jumped on my back instead, making us both fall under the waves. I wished we could’ve stayed there for all eternity, hiding away from our studies, from future mates. At that moment, I had Casey all to myself, and I craved more of it. Soon, he wouldn’t have time for me like this. Soon, he would be mated and in love. And maybe, possibly,so would I.
Chapter Two
Breakfast was always a calm experience. Most of the students were too tired to talk, and those who did, did so quietly. It was my favorite time of day, this time with my family and friends before we had to go to our classes. Casey sat in front of me, Harpy next to him. Nym had sat next to me this morning, apparently no longer angry with me,or so I hoped. I hated when he got into his hissy fits, as I liked to call them. His dragon form was often the reason for his anger. The emotions would slowly take over and turn a small thing into this huge annoyance. I’d learnedthatgrowing up with him. He got better once he hit his teens, funnily enough. Almost as if he and his dragon had meshed together, sort of becoming one.
“Another failed date, I take it?” Nym drawled while peeling his orange. He’d taken a liking to them recently. I had no idea why, but he had them every morning.
I scoffed. “Why are you so against me finding my mate? I wasn’t this overbearing with you and Harpy.”
“I knew Harpy was mine,” he gloated. “There was no need for you to be overbearing.”
I rolled my eyes, focusing on my oatmeal. It had fresh fruit and honey on it, the perfect morning treat.
“Don’t be so hard on him,” Myve, my cousin said, bumping into Nym’s other side. “Not all of us have superior dragon senses.”
“Thank you, Myve,” I said, shooting her a smile behind Nym’s back.
“I got you, boo,” Myve sang, making us all laugh, even Nym cracked a smile.
“Hi, Casey,” a redheaded guy said, standing awfully close to Casey’s seat. “I was wondering if you wanted to fly with me later today? Perhaps after classes?” The guy seemed really nervous, like maybe he didn’t enjoy flying? I had no idea what his shifted form was. Considering Casey was a raven shifter, he would likely be another bird for them to be able to fly around together.
Harpy looked at me, then hurried to give Nym a look I couldn’t quite decipher. Casey gaped at the redhead, then composed himself and smiled at the guy, making my stomach tie itself into knots. I didn’t like seeing my friend smile at others like that.
“That sounds fun,” Casey said, sounding genuine. I suddenly didn’t like the thought of the two of them spending time together, but I couldn’t very well tell Casey that. He might like whatever-his-name-was and I wouldn’t stand in the way of his happiness. Casey deserved to be happy.Always.
The guy broke into a beaming smile. “Great! I’ll meet you at the bench near the forest.”
“Deal,” Casey grinned back, waving as the guy left us.
“Who’s that?” Myve asked, staring after the redheaded guy as he went back to his friends, all of them patting him on the shoulder and congratulating him.He must really hate flying.
“His name is Riddick,” Casey replied, looking shy. “I hadn’t known he was interested in me like that.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up my hand. “Why do you think he’s interested?”
Everyone stared at me in disbelief, but not Casey. No, he looked hurt. “Why wouldn’t he be interested?” Casey asked, his tone a mere whisper.
