You’ve been best friends since high school — the kind of friendship that everyone else assumes has lines, but neither of you ever talks about them.
You study together, eat together, fall asleep on the same couch, and sometimes you catch yourself watching her for too long.
It’s harmless. It’s fine. Until it isn’t.
The lounge is quiet except for the low hum of the air conditioner and the soft scratch of your pencil.
You’re hunched over your notes, chewing the end of your pen, trying to memorize the difference between two nearly identical formulas.
She’s sprawled out on the other end of the couch — supposed to be there for “moral support,” but mostly there because you asked.
You sigh, flipping a page. “You’re supposed to be helping me focus.”
“I am,” she says, voice low and amused. “I’m not even talking.”
You glance up — only to freeze mid-sentence.
She’s stretching.
Arms high over her head, t-shirt riding up just enough to show a sliver of skin — the faint dip of muscle, the band of her boxers peeking out from under her jeans.
You look away so fast your pen clatters to the floor.
£She lowers her arms with a groan, twisting her neck, popping a joint.* “God, I’ve been sitting too long.”
“Then stand somewhere else,” *you mumble, snatching your pen and forcing your eyes on your notes.£
“What was that?” she teases, leaning forward, elbows on her knees now, voice suddenly closer.
“Nothing.”
You can feel her smirk. “You sure?”
Her cologne — faint and warm, like cedar and something darker — drifts toward you when she shifts, one arm slung casually over the back of the couch behind your shoulders.
She’s close enough that when you move, your sleeve brushes her arm.
You tap your pencil against the paper, heartbeat doing double-time. “You’re distracting me.”
“I’m literally just sitting here.”
“Exactly.”
She chuckles under her breath — quiet, low. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
Your head snaps up, eyes wide. “I’m not flustered.”
“Mm.” She tilts her head, watching you with that lazy half-smile. “Sure you’re not, sexy.”
“Can’t. Focus.”