ANYTHING BUT ENEMIES

26. are you asking me out again?

"WE'RE GOING."

I blink at Ruby for the fifth time in the past hour. "We have assignments due tomorrow."

"So we complete them when we get back."

"It's already eight o'clock."

"It's a night museum, Cleo, we have to go."

"Remind me why all of you are here again?" I now address the remainder of the room, eyes passing over Julia, Marty, Anaya, and Reece.

"Because Ruby said we had to convince you to go."

"Ah, right."

"It'll be fun. I promise," Julia continues, looking at me upside-down from my own bed. "Relaxing."

"And we'll get food," Reece pitches in.

"Yeah, she loves eating," says Anaya.

"Thanks, guys, really."

"I'll pick the place."

We're rolling our eyes before Marty can even finish the sentence.

"Okay, fine, I'll go if I'm allowed to ask someone to go, and they actually agree."

"You know full well your boyfriend isn't going to agree to go somewhere with us."

My head spins so hard to Julia that my neck nearly snaps. "Will you guys stop calling him that? And, yeah, that's the point."

"He has a soft spot for her. I saw it with my own two eyes," Marty protests. "Let her ask."

"He does not."

"Yeah, he does. You should have seen the way he was looking at Nick today, like he wanted to strangle him. Go ask."

I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my platform Mary Jane onto the carpet. "You guys aren't going to let me out of this one, are you."

"I'll camp out in your room if I have to," Julia says. "Ask him, and then maybe I'll let you get away with staying here being bored on your own."

"I hate you guys."

"Love you too, bitch."

Turning on my heel, I march out of the unit to stand in front of the door across the hall, fist raising to knock, then stopping abruptly. What the hell am I doing right now? Being an idiot, obviously. But apart from that why would I even make this suggestion in the first place?

Biting my bottom lip, I whisper a prayer to whoever may be listening that he turns me down before letting my fist thud against the door. Nick answers, decked in salmon-colored shorts and a collared polo, and it takes everything in me to keep from gagging at his frat boy likeness.

"Is, uh, Dane here?"

"Who is it?" I hear from inside the room. There's shuffling then the click of a door as he appears from the bathroom. The hem of his T-shirt's pulled up, revealing toned olive skin as he wipes off his face, hair a wet mess.

I swallow, cheeks burning, shuffling back and forth as the shirt comes down, eyes meeting mine immediately.

"Cleodora." He's surprised, wet curls falling into his face that he quickly brushes back before drawing nearer.

Nick glances over his shoulder as his roommate approaches, sucking his teeth in disdain before pulling back from the doorway.

Dane shoots him a look that I clearly decipher as annoyance, replacing him in the spot with his weight resting on the doorframe. When his eyes fall back on me, I feel the words on my tongue drying up. "What do you want?"