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I groaned internally. Not again. While I was doing my best to keep all my focus on the cute guy who seemed into me, I couldn’t help my mind going to Ander. He’d been off with me ever since the club, and that had been almost a week ago. Yeah, he still mostly treated me like he normally would, but there was an inexplicable distance between us. It felt like he was doing his best to keep everything between us at surface level. If there was something wrong with him, then I needed to get to the bottom of it. I couldn’t stand the thought of my best friend hurting, especially if there was something I could do to help.
Curtis leaned back in his chair, eyeing me over the top of his flat white. “You’re studying business, right? What made you pick it?”
I shrugged. The short answer was that I hadn’t known exactly what I wanted to do, and business seemed as good an option as any. My parents had never pushed me towards a particular degree, let alone a career, and I thought that this degree would give me a good foundation for future business prospects.
The long answer…well, that involved the fact that I’d only chosen to come to this university because of Ander, and when he’d told me he was thinking of applying to study business…fuck, it sounded pathetic, but it had made my decision easy.
“It was as good a choice as any,” I said eventually before taking a huge bite of my panini, hoping to stall any further conversation on this topic.
“Yeah, I get it. Same for me—I didn’t know what I wanted to do either. I just wanted to play music, but my parents said I should have a backup plan. I agreed with them—it’s not like gigging is gonna be my full-time career. I get to scratch the itch as a member of the 2Bit Princes, and we’re happy with local gigs, playing covers and testing our original songs on whoever comes to watch us play.” He paused, then shot me a contemplative look. “Hey. Want to come and check us out on Sunday morning? We get use of a studio on Sundays once a month, and we normally use the time to record our original songs so we can share them to our social media accounts throughout the month. We could grab lunch after?”
“I wouldn’t be in the way?”
He shook his head. “Nah. There’s a big room with sofas you can chill in. Cole might be there, but even if he isn’t, no one will care.”
“Okay.” Swallowing hard, I finished my sentence. “Sounds good. I’ll be there.”
His smile was wide and genuine. “Looking forward to it. No pressure, okay?” He reached across the table and grabbed my hand, squeezing it once before letting it go.
We finished up our lunch, chatting easily about student life, keeping the conversation light, and when we were finished, I surprised myself by giving him a goodbye hug outside the coffee shop. It wasn’t something I normally did. Maybe I was hoping for those elusive butterflies, and although they never came, I felt…hopeful. Curtis seemed like a great guy, and maybe, if I gave things between us a proper chance, he could be great for me.
* * *
A knock sounded at my bedroom door, and before I had a chance to reply, the door was opening. Ander’s face appeared in the widening gap. “Coming?”
My fingers stilled on my laptop keyboard. “Where?”
He opened the door fully, moving into my room. “Next door. Movie night. Everyone’s going.”
A glance at my watch told me it was almost 8:00 p.m., and that meant I’d been sitting in front of my laptop for over four hours. “I’m not really in the mood for it right now. I’ve been working on this essay for hours, and I want to get it wrapped up tonight.”
Stepping right up behind me, he placed his palms on my shoulders. I ignored the unexpected flare of heat. “E.” He dipped his head to my ear, and his hands slid down my arms, lightly kneading my muscles. “You’re all stiff. Take a break.”
Fuck. Iwasstiff, if we were talking about the way my cock was rapidly responding to his touch and the way he was breathing in my ear like some kind of phone sex person.
“Please?” Sliding his hands back up my arms, he began to gently knead my shoulders. I bit down on my lip to stifle a sudden moan when one of his hands left my shoulder as he drew it up the back of my neck and into my hair, scraping his fingers across my scalp as he did so. “You’re working too hard.”
When I was sure I could speak again, I turned my head so I could meet his gaze. Distraction was my only technique. “Haveyoudone this essay?”
He stared down at me for a long moment before he blinked, shaking himself. His hand slid out of my hair and back to my shoulder, a heavy warmth that radiated through my body. “Is it the one for Wilder?”
“Yeah.” Forcing myself to move, I dropped my hands to my lap and then spun my computer chair so that his hands fell from my shoulders. Taking an unsteady breath, I pushed with my foot, allowing the chair to roll back from him. “It’s due on Friday.”
His brows pulled together. “I know it is. I’ve started it, and I have all my notes. I’ll get it done on time, and so will you. But you’ve been shut away in here for hours, and it’s not good for you.”
“Even so, I don’t feel like going anywhere. How about you go without me, and I promise you that I’ll take a break for at least half an hour?”
“No deal.” He shook his head violently, and I couldn’t help the fond smile that crept across my face as I watched him. “I know that you’ll carry on writing as soon as my back is turned. How about this—we go downstairs right now, and I’ll make us both some food. Then you can get back to writing, and I’ll go to movie night late. No one will care.”
“Okay, fine.” I climbed to my feet, stretching. Before I could overthink it, I crossed the small space between us and threw my arms around him. “Thanks for caring.”
His arms came around me, and he held me tightly, burying his face in my hair. He sighed heavily, and then he released me, clearing his throat. “That’s what best friends do.”
Best friends. Yeah. It was.
Downstairs in the kitchen, we said a quick hi and goodbye to Charlie, one of our other housemates, who was heading out for the evening, and then Ander made me sit down at the kitchen table while he busied himself getting ingredients out of the fridge.
“Omelette okay? I need to go food shopping.”
