Page 13

KATERINA

The house is alive with energy. Music pounds through the walls, the bass vibrating in my chest as the heat from too many bodies in one space thickens the air. The smell of cheap beer and sweat lingers, mixed with the faint scent of cologne and perfume. This is a typical college party. I should be enjoying myself. Alina had made a whole speech about how we deserved this night after the week we’d had. And she wasn’t wrong.

Classes were exhausting, training was brutal, and I needed something to relieve stress. But then Aiden walked in.

He’s hard to miss, standing near the kitchen, laughing at something Will said, his usual effortless confidence on display. The black t-shirt he’s wearing clings to his arms, and his hair is messy, like he’s been running his fingers through it. He doesn’t look like he belongs in the middle of a rowdy, sweaty crowd.

He looks like he owns the damn place. I don’t realise I’ve been staring until Alina nudges me with her hip.

“You’re glaring.”

I snap my eyes back to her.

“I am not.”

She raises an eyebrow.

“Right. You’re sending mental daggers in his direction because you like him so much.”

I scoff, crossing my arms.

“He’s just annoying.”

“Uh-huh,”

Alina smirks, taking a sip of her drink. “So that’s why you haven’t stopped looking at him?”

“I haven’t—”

“Kat,”

she cuts me off. “Just admit he gets under your skin and move on. Or, I don’t know, do something about it?” I scoff.

“Like what? Strangle him?”

Alina winks.

“Or kiss him. Same energy.”

I nearly choke on my drink.

“Absolutely not.”

Alina laughs, and I groan, deciding I need another drink before this conversation worsens. I approach the kitchen, pushing past a group of overly excited frat guys, when someone steps into my path.

“Kat?”

I blink, momentarily caught off guard.

“Logan?”

Logan Matthews. Hockey player. Junior. Blonde, tall, and annoyingly charming. We have a class together, and he’s pretty easy to talk to. He flashes me a smile, his gaze dipping briefly over my outfit before returning to my eyes.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,”

I smirk, leaning against the counter. “I do have a social life, you know.”

He chuckles.

“Could’ve fooled me. All I ever see you do is skate.”

“And yet,”

I say, tilting my head, “You still watch.”

Logan grins, his fingers tapping against his cup.

“Guilty.”

It’s an easy conversation. He’s flirting, and I could flirt back. I should flirt back. But I find myself not wanting to. I feel Aiden before I see him. He moves into the space next to me, his presence an uninvited weight in the air. I refuse to acknowledge him, but Logan does, offering a casual nod.

“Knight.”

Aiden nods back, his expression unreadable. Then, as if I’m not standing right here, he leans against the counter and casually takes a sip from his drink, eyes scanning the party like he has nowhere else to be. Annoyance flares in my chest.

I turn back to Logan, offering my most charming smile.

“So, Logan, what’s your major again?”

“Business,”

he says, returning my smile. “Thinking about sports management, actually.”

“Oh,”

I hum. “So you plan on working with athletes instead of just being one?”

Logan smirks.

“Exactly.”

Before he can say more, Aiden snorts under his breath. Not loud. Not obvious. But pointed at Logan.

I whip around to face him. “Something funny, Knight?”

He lifts a shoulder, taking another sip.

“Just wondering how long you were going to pretend to be interested in that conversation.”

My blood boils. Logan chuckles, glancing between Aiden and me, sensing the shift in tension. “I’ll let you two figure out your thing.”

I glare at him. “We don’t have a thing.”

Logan winks.

“Sure you don’t.”

As he disappears into the crowd, I whip back to Aiden.

“What the hell is your problem?”

He shrugs.

“No problem.”

I cross my arms, irritated at the man before me.

“You just had to interrupt, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t interrupt. I just spoke facts.”

I groan, exasperated. “You are impossible.”

Aiden smirks, his gaze dropping briefly to my lips before flicking back up. “You’re still standing here. Aren’t you?”

I don’t get a chance to respond because someone from the living room yells,

“TRUTH OR DARE!”

I exhale sharply. “Nope. Not happening.”

Alina suddenly appears, grabbing my wrist. “Oh, it’s happening.”

Before I can fight it, I’m dragged into the circle forming in the centre of the room. Aiden follows, of course, settling into a spot across from me, stretching his arms over the back of the couch like he has all the time in the world.

The game starts mild. Embarrassing dares, a few tame truths. Then it’s Alina’s turn.

“Truth or dare?”

Roman asks, grinning. Alina narrows her eyes. “Dare.”

Roman smirks. “Kiss someone in this circle.”

My eyes snap to Alina, who—without hesitation—grabs Roman’s shirt and pulls him in, pressing a quick, confident kiss to his lips. The room erupts in cheers and whistles, but I barely register it because she just did that.

Roman looks stunned, but his hand lingers at her waist for just a second too long before she pulls away, shrugging like it was no big deal.

I knew it.

Next, someone dares Will to shotgun a beer in under five seconds, which he does embarrassingly fast.

“Aiden.”

I snap my gaze at him. He looks too calm, sipping his drink like none matters. “Truth or dare?”

He smirks. “Dare.”

The girl smiles, biting her bottom lip as she flutters her eyes at him. My stomach does this uncomfortable flip, but I ignore it. “Kiss someone you’d never expect to kiss.”

The tension in the air thickens. My stomach twists violently, and my heart starts thumping out of my chest. Aiden’s gaze immediately flicks to me. I hold my breath. He watches me for a beat—one, two, three seconds—then smirks and leans toward the girl who dared him, pressing a brief, easy kiss to her lips instead.

I don’t know why I feel relief. Or maybe it’s disappointment. I don’t know. All I know is I take a long sip of my drink, ignoring how my pulse is suddenly too fast and how Aiden’s eyes linger on mine like he knows that affected me.

It's like he’s waiting for something. A reaction.

I refuse to give it to him.

I refuse to give him anything. So, I keep my expression blank, sip my drink, and pretend my stomach isn’t in knots. That I don’t care that Aiden just kissed some random girl instead of— No. Doesn’t matter.

Alina nudges my knee under the table, eyes filled with something between amusement and suspicion. I warn her with a look, but she grins and leans back against the couch, far too entertained.

The game moves on, but the energy has shifted. Aiden’s attention isn’t fully on the dares anymore. Now and then, I catch him watching me. Not obviously. Just… aware. I hate that I notice, and I hate that it makes me feel something. When it’s my turn, I don’t even hesitate. “Dare.”

The guy across from me—some senior I don’t know—grins. “I dare you to do a body shot.”

The room bursts into cheers, and my stomach twists again—but this time for a completely different reason.

Before I can even think about backing out, Alina claps her hands. “Ooooh, now this is about to get interesting.”

I glare at her before looking at the guy. “Off of who?”

His grin widens, and he gestures vaguely around the circle. “Your choice.”

I can feel Aiden’s gaze on me; our eyes meet, but I refuse to pick him even though I wouldn’t mind dragging my tongue up those abs of his.

I can hate him and still want to fuck him, but I know better.

Instead, I scan the group to decide the least humiliating choice.

Before I can choose, Logan leans forward, flashing an easy smirk. “I volunteer as tribute.”

The group cheers louder, and I force a smile. Logan is harmless. This means nothing. And if Aiden gets annoyed— Well, that’s just a bonus.

Logan leans back, resting against the couch with his shirt slightly lifted, waiting. Someone hands me a salt shaker, and I move without thinking, dragging my tongue across his skin before sprinkling the salt. Cheers erupt, and I barely hear them over the pounding in my ears. I grab the lime, hold it between my lips, and throw back the shot. As soon as the tequila burns down my throat, Logan leans in, taking the lime from my mouth with his own. It’s over in seconds, but the crowd eats it up, whistling and laughing. I sit back, heart hammering against my ribs, and glance at Aiden for a second. Just long enough to see his jaw tighten, his grip flex against his glass. He’s not smiling anymore. Interesting. The game continues, but I’m done.

“I need another drink,”

Alina smirks.

“Oh sure, now you need one.”

I ignore her and head for the kitchen. The party is still strong, with bodies moving in a blur of laughter and music. After that dare, I should feel lighter, victorious, or smug. Instead, I feel restless. As I pour another drink, I feel someone step up beside me.

“You have a habit of showing off, Hart.”

I don’t have to look to know who it is. I take my time stirring my drink before turning my head slightly.

“Funny, I was thinking the same about you.”

Aiden doesn’t respond immediately; he just watches me. His dark eyes are unreadable, but there’s something there—something charged.

“You didn’t have to do that,”

he says, voice lower now. I feign innocence.

“Do what?”

I ask, pretending not to know what he is talking about.

His lips press into a line. “You know what.”

I sip my drink, shrugging. “It was just a game.”

A muscle in his jaw ticks.

“Right.”

We stand in tense silence, the party still raging around us. Then, he leans in slightly, his breath warm against my ear. “Next time you want my attention, you don’t have to go through someone else.”

A shiver runs down my spine, but I cover it with a scoff.

“Your attention? You think too highly of yourself.”

He smirks, finally stepping back.

“Maybe. But you did look at me first.”

“So did you!”

I counter, raising my voice. Aiden nods, pressing his lips together.

“Yes, I did. The dare said kiss someone I’d never expect to kiss.”

He takes a couple of steps towards me, lowering his head, cold lips grazing the top of my ear.

“I very much so expect to kiss you.”

My heart plummets at his words, but before I can argue, he disappears into the crowd.

I let out a slow breath, my grip tightening around my cup.

Infuriating.

Absolutely infuriating.

And yet, I know exactly who I’ll think about when I sleep tonight.