Aurora’s pulse quickened.
This was one of Ro’s girlfriends. One of the two won who apparently shared him with Cheon now based on this morning’s entrance. ra had kissed Ro in front of everyone yesterday. Had walked beside him with complete confidence. Had answered his phone at one thirty in the morning when Cheon called.
The mory of that detail made Aurora’s face heat.
How had Cheon ended up in that situation? What chain of decisions led from asking Aurora about sex to showing up at school with visible hickeys and a completely transford deanor?
"You good?" ra’s voice cut through Aurora’s spiral.
Aurora blinked. Both Nolan and ra were staring at her now.
"Fine. Just thinking about tomorrow."
"Yeah?" ra leaned back in her chair. "Nervous?"
"A little."
"Don’t be. You’re ranked what, third in class?"
"Fifth."
"Even better. You’ll destroy whoever you face."
Nolan nodded enthusiastically. "Aurora’s beam control is insane. I’ve been watching her practice. The accuracy is—"
"Nolan." Aurora’s voice ca out sharper than intended. "Can we just focus on the strategy?"
His expression faltered. Confusion crossed his face before settling into mild hurt. "Yeah. Of course. Sorry."
Guilt twisted in Aurora’s stomach but she couldn’t take it back now. Couldn’t explain that his praise felt hollow when he’d never once suggested they be anything more than teammates. When he looked at her hero potential instead of her.
ra’s eyes narrowed slightly. She looked at Aurora with new interest. The tail that had been swishing lazily behind her went still.
"So what’s the plan?" ra asked, still watching Aurora. "You guys matched up against anyone specific?"
"Random draw tomorrow morning," Nolan said. He flipped to a new page in his notebook. "But we’ve prepared for all possible matchups. Cheon worked out contingencies for—"
"Cheon’s good at that," ra interrupted. "Planning everything down to the last detail. Control freak tendencies."
Aurora’s jaw tightened. "She’s thorough."
"That’s one word for it."
"You have a problem with her?"
ra grinned. "Nope. Actually like her quite a bit now. Took a while but she grew on ."
The emphasis on that last part felt deliberate. Like ra was testing sothing. Waiting for Aurora to react in a specific way.
Aurora refused to give her the satisfaction. She opened her own notes and spread them across the table. "Can we review the opening sequence? I want to make sure—"
"Aurora." ra’s voice had lost the playful edge. "You okay? You seem off."
"I’m fine."
"You sure? Because you look like you’re about to either cry or punch soone."
"I said I’m fine."
Nolan glanced between them with growing concern. "Did sothing happen? If there’s an issue we should—"
"There’s no issue." Aurora’s hands were flat on the table now. Her palms were getting hot again. The orbs were cycling without her permission. "Can we please just focus on tomorrow?"
Silence fell over the room. Heavy and awkward. Nolan returned to his notes with obvious reluctance. ra continued watching Aurora with that unnerving intensity.
After what felt like an eternity, ra spoke again. "Ro ntioned he ran into you today."
Aurora’s stomach dropped. "What?"
"Said you guys got coffee. Talked."
"It was just coffee."
"Cool. What’d you talk about?"
"Nothing important."
"He seed to think it was interesting."
Aurora’s pulse hamred. "Why would he ntion to you?"
ra shrugged. The gesture was too casual. Too perford. "He ntions lots of things. I don’t interrogate his entire day."
"But he told you about coffee."
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Probably because you’re hot and he noticed."
Nolan’s pen clattered against the table. His face went bright red. "ra!"
"What? She is. You’ve noticed, right Nolan? You spend like every day with her."
"That’s not—we’re just—she’s my teammate."
"Right. Teammate." ra’s grin widened. "Nothing else."
Aurora wanted to disappear. To sink through the floor and reappear anywhere but this room with these two people and this conversation happening. Her face felt like it was on fire. The heat between her legs had intensified to the point of distraction.
This was Ro’s fault.
Whatever he’d done during that handhold had broken sothing in her nervous system. Now she couldn’t sit through a normal strategy eting without her body betraying her. Without every comnt feeling loaded with subtext she didn’t want to decode.
"Can we focus?" Aurora’s voice ca out tight. Strained. "We have one day to make sure this works and I’d rather not waste it talking about—"
"About what?" ra’s expression was pure innocence. "I’m just making conversation."
"You’re being difficult on purpose."
"Am I?"
Nolan raised his hand hesitantly. "Maybe we should take a break? Get so air?"
"I don’t need air." Aurora grabbed her notes. Stared at them without reading. The words blurred together into aningless shapes. Her concentration was completely shot.
The rest of the eting dragged on for another forty minutes. They reviewed formations. Discussed contingencies. Ran through scenarios where each of them took different roles depending on matchup variables. Nolan contributed detailed tactical analysis. ra added comntary about timing and positioning. Aurora nodded along and contributed when required but her mind remained elsewhere.
On Ro’s hand wrapped around hers.
On Cheon’s transformation.
On the warmth that wouldn’t fade no matter how much she tried to ignore it.
When the eting finally ended, Nolan packed up his materials with his usual thodical care. ra stretched and yawned, her tail curling behind her in a satisfied arc.
"Good session," Nolan said. "I think we’re ready."
"Definitely." ra stood. "You coming, Aurora? We could grab dinner before—"
"I’m not hungry." Aurora was already halfway to the door. "I’ll see you both tomorrow."
She left before either could respond. Walked quickly through the hallway and down the stairs. Outside, the afternoon had shifted toward evening. Long shadows stretched across the quad. The air had cooled slightly but Aurora barely noticed.
She found another bench. Sat down. Pulled out her phone.
Still nothing from Nolan.
One new ssage from Cheon asking if Aurora wanted to study later.
Aurora stared at that ssage for a long ti. Cheon wanted to study. Like everything was normal. Like she hadn’t fundantally altered her entire existence in the past seventy-two hours.
Aurora wanted to ask what it felt like. Being with Ro. Sharing him with soone else. Whether the guilt ever kicked in or if Cheon had found so way to rationalize the entire arrangent.
But asking would require admitting that Aurora cared. That Ro’s comnt about mixed signals had planted itself sowhere she couldn’t extract. That the warmth between her legs hadn’t faded all day and she didn’t understand why.
She locked her phone again.
The sun continued its descent. Students passed in groups, laughing and talking about tomorrow’s trials. Aurora sat alone and tried to make sense of sothing that defied every frawork she’d built for understanding relationships.
Nolan was supposed to be the one. The earnest hero who worked hard and saw her eventually. The slow burn that built into sothing real and lasting.
Except Nolan didn’t make her feel like this.
Nolan had never touched her and sent heat flooding through her entire body.
Nolan had never looked at her like she was the only thing worth noticing in a crowded room.
Ro had done both in under an hour.
Aurora pressed her thighs together and hated herself for it.
What the hell did he do to ?
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