Chapter 8

I burst out laughing—The type of laugh where I become a freaking pig for a second from how often I'm snorting.

Kevin raises an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with something I can't pinpoint yet. "Wha—what the heck is wrong with you?" I ask as my laugh dies down.

"I don't know why you're laughing. I'm being dead serious right now," Kevin says, smirking.

I roll my eyes as I try to push him off of me, but he easily holds me in place. My eyebrows knit, and my lips go into a thin line. "C'mon, Kevin."

"C'mon, Nöelle," he mimics in a high-pitched voice.

I raise an eyebrow. "Do you really want to wrestle with me?"

Kevin laughs. "Let's see what you got, little one."

I snort, shaking my head before using all of my strength to get out of his iron grip. I twist my wrists around as my body squirms to get up. Kevin chuckles, squeezing his hold as his legs clasp mine.

Fuck me.

I nibble my lower lip. "I could bite your arm, you know?" I say.

He nods. "You could, but you won't."

"That's just because I don't want to hurt you, but I give up. You win, now, let me go."

He chuckles but releases me, sitting back on his knees.

I sit up, massaging my wrists. "You're lucky I'm black," I say, seeing a faint red mark around them.

Kevin laughs. "Oh please, I didn't squeeze that hard."

I gasp. "I'm pretty sure you cut my blood circulation."

He pouts, making my heart stop. "Awe, do you want me to kiss the pain away?"

My body warms up, and I look toward the white ceiling. "You're getting too comfortable with me."

Another sexy laugh comes out of his mouth. "Isn't that a good thing?"

I sigh, meeting his emerald eyes, closely watching me. "I'm not sure."

I could be friend-zoned in nanoseconds.

"Well, anyway, want to head out to have breakfast?" he asks, getting out of bed.

I yawn, nodding my head. "Yeah, I should have enough time before my lecture starts."

I head back home to change before going back to his place. I thought I took hours to get ready, but Kevin surpasses me since he's still in the shower when I'm back.

Upon entering the kitchen, I jump when I find the Russian boy sitting on the plastic grey chair, his eyes staring at the laptop on the sleek, grey table. I completely forgot Andros is one of Kevin's flatmates.

My jump doesn't go unnoticed by him. He raises an eyebrow. "What the fuck was that flinch?"

I shake my head, sitting on the opposite side. "I forgot you also live here. What happened with Tamera, by the way?"

The boy rolls his sapphire eyes. "Nothing, as usual."

I frown. "How did nothing happen when Tam came back looking like a hot mess?"

Andros sighs, slightly pulling the screen of his laptop down. "We kissed, but that was after she messed with the girl I was flirting with right in front of me, as usual. I'm just tired of her games at this point."

"Well, you keep sleeping around. What did you expect was going to happen?"

He releases another sigh. "I know, but it's uni! I can't be stuck with one person already—"

"Stuck? You've had eyes for Tamera since the first year. What are you talking about?"

"He's a pussy," a new voice speaks up from behind me.

My heart swells. Kevin. I turn around, watching him walk up to my seat, putting his hands onto my shoulders. I'm pretty sure I forgot to breathe at the warm touch. He smells of man's body wash.

I focus back at Andros, chuckling when I catch him flipping his middle finger at his flatmate. "I'm pretty sure you're a pussy as well," Andros says, smirking.

Kevin's hands squeeze my shoulders. A shiver runs down my spine. Feeling like this for just a guy should be illegal. "Of course you would turn the tables on me, mate," he says, making Andros give him a sour look.

"Turn the tables for what?" another boy asks, walking past the table to open the fridge.

That's Adam, another flatmate with icy-blue eyes and dyed platinum hair, almost looking white. He's pale and slim with no body hair visible anywhere. He's fun to be around, especially when he drinks.

"Don't you think Andros is acting like a coward with Tamera?" Kevin asks as his fingers unconsciously massage my shoulders.

Adam snorts. "Who cares? It's uni. Oh hey, Nöelle," he greets, turning around with a bowl of cherries in hand.

I greet back while Andros beams. "Finally, someone who understands me."

"Whatever floats your boat. We're leaving," Kevin says, and I pout, not feeling his hands on me anymore.

I wave at the guys before following Kevin like a lost puppy. We fall into small talk until we reach the first random bar that doesn't have a queue of students waiting for their lattes and biscuits. The place is small, with a few wooden tables and chairs scattered around. There's only a couple of workers walking around and serving a couple of old clients their teas. Kevin and I end up ordering the same thing: tea and donuts.

"How long do you think we should keep going to therapy?" I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

Kevin shrugs. "I haven't thought about it. Why? You want to back out?"

I shake my head. "No, but the longer we stay there, the more money we spend, and I don't think it's worth it after a while. Plus, should we even tell Dr. Santiago if she doesn't catch our lie?"

"I'm not sure yet. I thought the doc would tell us off after a while, but we've been there three times, and nothing changed. We could do three more sessions before calling it quits?"

I nod and politely smile at the dark-haired waitress serving our orders. "That's fine by me. Oh, by the way, did you hear about Hailey?" I ask, falling back into university gossip.

I like talking to Kevin. He's down-to-earth and sweet. For some reason, I thought he would be more on the dickhead side which I'm pretty sure was because of that handsome face and his athletic body. Throughout our conversation, an alarm from a phone goes off.

"Oh, sorry," Kevin says, taking the device out of his pocket and turning it off.

I smile. "Don't worry about it. Do you have to go somewhere?"

"Nah, it's just a reminder that I need to work out."

My heart leaps. I want to see Kevin working out.

"Do you mind if I join you?" I ask, feeling my face getting warm.

Kevin's green eyes widen. "You work out?"

"Not at all, but you can teach some moves or whatever."

He laughs at that. "No way, my workout isn't suited for beginners."

"Oh c'mon, I can't be a stick forever."

"Doesn't matter, plus, you're beautiful regardless if you exercise or not. I don't have that privilege."

My smile widens when he compliments me, only to turn into a scowl. "Privilege? What are you talking about?"

"It just means that if I'm not careful, I can go back to being overweight like that." Kevin snaps his fingers.

What? Kevin fat? How? I can't even imagine him like that.

"For how long have you been working out then?" I can't help but ask, wanting to know more about him. I'm glad he doesn't mind sharing his personal life with me. I could use some of that trait to share my story as well.

"Too long. I think it started before college, so year eleven. I was sick and tired of being picked on because of my weight and decided to change my life. One year of intense training, and I had girls crushing on me. I felt invincible at that moment. I would have never thought I would get a girl to like me, let alone a whole class!" He shakes his head, releasing a chuckle. "If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have started working out."

"Why not?"

He shrugs. "To avoid peer pressure. Just because I was fit, everyone expected me to be a type of person, but once they found out the type of guy I am, they left or just gave me a disappointed look. It's exhausting."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I say, and he waves his hand around dismissively.

"It's over anyway, and don't give me that look," he says, throwing me a glare.

My eyes pop out before moving down to the cup of tea, warming my hands. I didn't even realise I was giving Kevin a look. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I was trying to get fat before starting university."

"What? Why? You're hot," he says, frowning at me.

I laugh, shaking my head. "Yes, well, with my family and classmates calling me anorexic, it gets tiring, and you just want to shut them up somehow, so I started eating like a pig, but nothing worked. My metabolism is too high, and paying to have it slowed down scares me."

"I'm sorry, but your family is crazy. I've noticed your beauty ever since I helped you at the store, and trust me, you don't need to pay anything. Your confidence motivates me to work out more."

My eyes get glossy. "You think I'm confident?"

Kevin smiles. "Aren't you?"

My heart speeds up, and I sip my tea, warming up my system. My crush for Kevin is shifting into actually liking him, and I don't mind it at all.

If I had to choose a person to give my heart, it would be him because I like him. I've always had, ever since we first locked gaze. I was always a sucker for love at first sight, and the fact that I'm talking like this to my crush makes me hopeful.

THANK YOU FOR READING AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!