Making sure to hold his gaze, I responded. “Yeah. I know I’ve been, y’know, joking around or whatever, but I am serious. I promise. Look—I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I’d kissed Elliot, and I know that I want to at least explore my options. I don’t wanna give anyone the wrong impression about what I want, and I’ll make sure that they know where they stand with me before anything happens. I do that with the girls I’m with anyway—that’s not going to change just because it’s a man involved.”
“Good. Because this is gonna involve real people, with real feelings.” The seriousness faded from his expression, and he grinned at me. “I think you’re going to enjoy this. Even if our kiss didn’t work out the way you hoped, I guarantee there’s someone out there who’ll give you the kind of response you’re looking for.”
I returned his grin. “Thanks, bro. I hope you’re right.”
“No. You don’t call me that. No bro nicknames.”
“Sorry, dude.”
He shot me a warning look. “You’re buying me another drink.”
I mentally prepared myself to take another hit to my bank account. “I guess I owe you one.”
5
“Shit! Sorry!”
I straightened up, rubbing my head. A guy with tousled brown hair stood in front of me, first giving me a slightly apologetic smile, then wincing as he rubbed at his own head. We’d collided as I was entering the lecture hall and he was coming out.
“Elliot?”
My gaze swung to the guy’s left, and my lips curved into a small smile. “Huxley, hi.”
The corner of Huxley’s mouth turned up, which was as good as a smile from him. “Might want to watch where you’re going.”
“Thanks for the helpful advice. I’ll be sure to remember that in future.” I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, shifting on my feet. “Uh. How’s Cole doing?”
“He’s your cousin. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Huxley smirked at me.
“He’s your boyfriend.” And stepbrother.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” The brown-haired guy was looking between us with interest. His eyes lingered on me, and his lashes swept down as his gaze lowered to my mouth.
“Yeah, sorry. This is Elliot, Cole’s cousin. Elliot, meet Curtis. He’s in my band. Drummer.” Huxley eyed his friend before turning back to me. “Cole’s put us on the guest list at Revolve on Thursday.” He paused, giving me a cautious look. “You wanna come?”
Huxley voluntarily inviting me to hang out with him—that had to be my cousin’s influence. Leaning against the wall in what I hoped was a casual pose, I said, “Thursday? Isn’t that a theme night?” I tried to ignore the way that Curtis was studying me with even more interest than before.
“Thirst Trap Thursday.” Huxley rolled his eyes. “Not my choice, but it’s two-for-one on drinks, and Cole wants me to entertain him while he’s working.”
Curtis took a step closer. “You should come,” he said in a low, soft voice, and I suddenly remembered Noah’s words. Maybe this was a good opportunity to dip my toe in the water. Open myself up to new possibilities. Cole would be there anyway, and I was pretty sure I could drag some of my other friends along.
I nodded. “Alright. I’ll come. Get Cole to text me the details.”
“Don’t I get your number?” Curtis smiled at me.
“Not—”
I was cut off by the sudden arrival of Dr. Wilder, the principal lecturer for my international business management module. He was famously short-tempered and grumpy, and he didn’t disappoint today, his face twisting into a scowl as he jabbed his finger in the direction of the lecture theatre. “Enough talking! Mr. Clarke, inside, now. You two, get out of here.”
“Yes, sir,” I mumbled, ducking inside and sliding into the first available seat, not wishing to incur any more of his wrath. All my other lecturers preferred to be referred to by their first names, but not him. The only acceptable form of address was “sir” or “Dr. Wilder.”
Hiding my phone under my desk, I sent a text to Noah.
Me:
I ran into my cousin’s boyfriend and he was with a guy who I THINK was interested in me. I agreed to go with them to Revolve on Thursday night. Can you come? I might need moral support
Leaving my phone balanced on my knee, I returned my attention to the screen at the front of the lecture theatre, beginning to jot down some notes as Dr. Wilder went through the data relating to the on-screen chart. Around ten minutes later, I had a reply to my text.
Noah:
Yes! Want me to come on my own?
Me:
No you can invite Liam. Preston too? The more of us, the better. Less potential for awkwardness
Noah:
Will do. Tell me about the guy
He followed up his message with a string of eyeball emojis, and I smiled.
Me:
His name is Curtis and he’s a drummer in my cousin’s boyfriend’s band
Noah:
I approve
Me:
You haven’t even met him yet. I spoke to him for 2 minutes. Not enough time to form an impression
Noah:
OK I’ll reserve judgement until I meet him
Me:
Good. Speak later
I put my phone away and attempted to concentrate on the lecture. When it was over, I managed to get outside quickly, avoiding Dr. Wilder’s eye, and I made my way to the student union café, where I was meeting Ander for lunch.
Ander was already at a table in the corner of the room, and I headed straight for him.
A bright smile lit up his face when he caught my eye, and as usual, I did my best to ignore the butterflies he gave me. “I got you the chilli—thought you might want something to warm you up. It’s fucking freezing out there.”
“Yeah, it is. Thanks for this. It’s just what I needed.” I sank into the chair across from his, unable to stop my smile as he unloaded the tray, placing steaming chilli with rice and a can of Coke Zero in front of me. Rubbing my hands together, I said, “I think my fingers have frostbite.”
He laughed at that, and before I could register what was happening, he was reaching across the table and encompassing my hands in his. Slowly, methodically, he began to rub his hands over mine. “Better?”
I swallowed. “Much.” My voice was way too hoarse.
“Good, because you don’t wanna catch a cold. You can borrow my scarf for the walk home.”
Thankfully, he let go of me, picking up his fork, and I was able to form sentences again. “You know that catching a cold from cold weather is a myth, right?”
“What about pneumonia?”
I shrugged. “I don’t actually know how you catch that. What about bronchitis?”