My jaw ground so hard I thought a molar cracked.
Seph likes them.
He grabbed extra for her.
Of course he did.
Ash didn’t do subtle.
Or patient.
Or emotional boundaries.
He wore everything on his sleeve and half in his hair.
Seph caught up a moment later, moving slower, one hand tugging her sleeve down over her wrist, the other smoothing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Her silvery hair was loose today, like starfall down her back. She had forgone that hat, and that uniform…
That damn uniform.
It clung to her body like something indecent.
She pulled her sleeves down over her gloved hands and looked away when she saw me.
It was an instinctive gesture. One I had done to her.
Fear.
That’s what I felt when I looked at her.
And it goddamn killed me.
Her eyes flicked across the room—
—and hit me.
She froze.
Just for a second.
Long enough for me to catch the flash of something raw in her expression.
Hurt.
Wariness.
Distrust.
She looked away almost immediately.
Dev nudged her tray toward the far table—right in Ash’s line of sight, of course—and she let him guide her.
Ash whimpered, looking sad, before jumping up and bounding over to her.
In my pocket, something buzzed.
My phone.
