My Little Mind Reader

6. In Yo's Room

Phana's POV

My hopes of spending the evening talking to Yo and getting to know him were crushed pretty quickly. At least I didn't have to worry about competing with Park for attention anymore. From what I had seen, Yo was thoroughly creeped out by Park.

My new worry was Joss, who was not only tall, handsome, and protective of Yo, but was also apparently a friend and not a stalker. Why is it that as soon as one person is out of the game, another person is waiting? I wasn't really surprised, but I wasn't happy about it either.

The night ended for all of us when Yo and Ming left. Everybody was commenting on what happened and Forth said he wanted to go talk to Ming to make sure everything was okay.

I went straight back to my dorm but stopped outside Yo's door to listen again. I think eavesdropping might be habit forming.

There were people inside, but I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. I went into my room and propped the door open so I could hear people coming and going. I wanted to go to Yo's room but I was hoping to wait until he was alone.

After about 5 minutes, I heard the door open and looked out to see Ming leave while Yo talked to Joss in the doorway. It looked like he was getting ready to leave too, so I went to my bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my hair.

A few minutes later I heard Yo's door shut. I double checked my appearance one more time and then knocked on his door.

"Pha," Yo said, sounding surprised to see me. "I didn't expect to see you again tonight."

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," I said, inching closer. I couldn't help it, whenever I saw him I just wanted to get as close as I could. "Can I come in for a minute?"

"Oh, sure, come in," Yo said, stepping inside and allowing me to pass.

Yo has figurines all around his room and a selection of framed photos on his bureau. I heard water running in the bathroom. Maybe he was going to take a shower? I considered asking him, but with him standing right next to me, nothing else seemed to matter.

"You seemed pretty upset tonight," I said, trying to ease into asking him what happened with Park and his not-stalker, Joss. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm okay, thanks for checking on me," Yo said, smiling sweetly. "Park just made me uncomfortable and I wasn't prepared when he grabbed my arm."

"Did he hurt you?" I asked. When Yo cried out my first thought was to grab Park and slam his face into the nearest hard surface, but Joss had taken care of that. I took a step closer, wishing I could reach out to hold Yo's hand but I don't want to make him nervous.

"I was more surprised than actually hurt," Yo said, looking up at me.

I had been planning to ask about Joss, but right in that moment, there was nothing more important than Yo's brown eyes and the way he tilted his head to look up at me.

My feet are moving closer to Yo and without conscious thought, I'm leaning down. I know it's too soon to kiss him, he barely knows me, but I can't seem to pull my gaze from his lips. I need a distraction, the last thing I want is to move too fast and end up having Yo think I'm a creep, too.

"Am I interrupting yet again?" Ming asked, walking out of the bathroom in his boxers and a t-shirt. How did Ming get in here?

"Pha just wanted to make sure I was okay," Yo said, as though I hadn't been two heartbeats away from pulling him into my arms and kissing him senseless. Hadn't he noticed my attraction to him? Right now it's probably for the best, but if I'm dying to kiss him and he doesn't even notice, I'm going to have to step up my game.

"That's nice of him," Ming said, the sarcasm evident in his voice. Even if Yo was unaware of my feelings for him, Ming certainly was not. "Yo and I need to get to bed. I assume you can see yourself out."

"I assume you can get to your own room as well," I said, desperately hoping that he's not planning to sleep with Yo. He said Yo is like his brother, but the only person who should be sharing Yo's bed is me.

"I'm staying here," Ming said, not bothering to hide his amusement. I hate Ming.

"Why?" I growled out.

"I had a difficult night," Yo said. "Ming said he would stay with me so I'll feel safe."

I'm such a jerk. Rather than thinking about how upset Yo is and how nice it is that his best friend is staying to make him feel safe, I'm jealous because it isn't me. Yo is so sweet, I don't want him to be upset, so no matter what else I feel, I'm going to have to be grateful he has a friend who takes care of him. I give Ming the first genuine smile he's ever seen from me and excuse myself, wishing them both a good night.