“Is that—”
“Macaroni salad is still salad, Silas. It’s in the name.”
“I don’t think—”
“I will not be taking health critiques from a man who has Hot Cheetos on an Amazon Subscribe and Save.”
Silas sighed, then stood and started pacing, ignoring Anika’scomplaints. He distracted himself from LA with thoughts of New York. “Do you know who’s taking over my class?”
“Gotta keep your caster clean to do magic / ’Less you want this to get tragic,” Anika rapped.
“No,” Silas whimpered.
“Yes.”
“Oh, those poor kids.”
The rap was the work of the most insufferable teacher at the school, whom Silas simply referred to as Hamilton, for obvious reasons. Silas itched to hop on a plane immediately and save his students from further off-off-off-off-off-Broadway suffering.
“He’s finally discovered A-B-B-A rhyme scheme, so at least they’ll have a little variety this year,” Anika joked.
Silas walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, letting the cold calm him down after the stress of talking to his parents. He unbuttoned his shirt slightly to wet his neck and chest, then ran water through his hair, combing it through his thick locks as he stared at himself in the mirror. He already looked different—more worn out than he had in New York, like he had hollowed. He knew in theory he could still teach here, could pursue that passion alongside leading Aestas, but in practice, it wouldn’t be possible. He’d be too bogged down in paperwork and politics, bits taken out of his soul day after day after day until there was nothing left.
He grabbed a towel, squeezing some of the water out of his hair as he flopped down onto the bed.
“Focus on the positives,” Anika said. “Have you met anyone fun?”
Silas felt his face change when he thought of Katherine. Anika pounced on it instantly.
“Oh! Who is she? Will I like her? Are you going to fall in love? Fuck. I need to get back on Hinge ASAP so we can double date.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Nik. She doesn’t even like me.”
“Oh my god, that’s so hot.”
Silas heard a soft knock on his door. “I gotta go. Someone’s here.”
“I bet it’s her! I need to move to LA, everything is a movie there.”
Silas rolled his eyes as he walked to the door. “It’s not—”
It was. Katherine was wearing a green crop top that brought out her eyes and made Silas wish for another splash of cold water. She had a determined look on her face, her hand raised as if she’d been about to knock again.
“It’s her, isn’t it? Hi! I’m Anika!”
Silas slammed his thumb down on the end call button, then pulled out his headphones and leaned against the doorway, forcing a casual cool into his body.
Katherine looked at Silas standing in the doorway of his hotel room. He wasn’t wearing a jacket again, and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, showing a pane of muscled chest. His hair was damp, and he was mussing it with a towel, and the whole thing was so stereotypically erotic that Katherine couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her.
“Hello to you too.”
She flushed. “Sorry. You’re just…” She gestured at him. He raised an eyebrow, daring her to explain what he was.
“Clearly indisposed. Sorry for interrupting.”
He quirked a small smile, his dark eyes glittering with amusement. “No problem.”
He gestured for her to come inside, and she did, futzing at the hem of her shirt while she wished there was a spell to erase her blushing cheeks.That would be called getting laid, she thought.
