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"I'm not even going to pretend to understand that," he admits.
"Aren't your friends going to mind that you've dumped them to hang out with me?"I ask, trying not to worry about that.
"No, they've got each other, and at least one of them said that they were going to be meeting up with their girlfriend after the match."
I nod, secretly pleased that I get to spend more time with him, especially when it's unexpected.I gesture for him to wait as I pick up my pom poms and stuff them into my bag.I'll hang them up properly when I get back to my room, but they'll be fine in there for now.
"Don't you need to get changed or anything?"Darius asks.
"Worried about being seen with a cheerleader?"I joke.
"No, not at all," he responds quickly."If anything, it feels like it would make me seem much cooler than I am."
I snort."I hate to break it to you, but I don't think anyone is getting extra cool points for being on an academy cheer squad with anyone other than the academy cheer squad."
"You get extra cool points from me," he promises.
"Then that's all I need.But to answer your question, in winter I'd change, but it's warm and the uniform will need washing anyway.Unless this is your way of saying that I smell weird."
"You don't," he assures me.
"Good, because I don't want to delay getting a chocolate fudge sundae."
"Excellent choice, though I prefer the strawberry caramel one."
"Then it's a good job we don't have to share."I smile at him, meeting his gaze.
He returns it, and I feel like something shifts within me.It's almost enough to make me completely forget about the gnawing sensation inside me.
I dismiss the thought and try to bury it deep within me.I can deal with all of that later.Right now, my focus is on ice cream and hanging out with my friends.Darius included.
Twelve
Darius
I headinto the study room, already looking forward to the hour-long session even more than I normally do.I push open the door, my heart squeezing tightly as Mandy looks up and smiles at me.
"Hey," I say as I get into the seat beside her.
"Hi."A feeling I recognise rolls off her and towards me.And I like it, even if it isn't what I intended to happen when we started spending time together.
Erica gives us a strange look, but doesn't say anything about it.Which is probably a good thing.I don't want to have to explain whatever is going on between us when I don't have words for it myself.And I have to imagine that Mandy feels the same.
Carlton bustles in and places a tray of drinks down on the table between us.
"Thanks," Mandy says, giving him a grateful smile, but I can tell it's different from the way she interacts with me.
"No problem," the merman says as he takes his normal seat."What are we doing today?"
"Mandy and I were talking about psych evaluations before the two of you arrived," Erica says.
Mandy nods."I thought we could go through a mock one.We have some case studies we're able to use for that, right?"
"Yeah, I saw some in the course material.I think we're supposed to pick one and then we're supposed to role-play it?"I click through my tablet until I find what I'm looking for."How do we feel about Benett Shaw?Or Diana Fairbanks?"
"I think you could play a Diana," Mandy responds.
"Diana it is."I click and pull up the profile so I can scan through it.
