“Midnight,” he confirmed with a nod. “I’ll be there.” He bit his lower lip, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was watching us. “I should go. I have... homework.”
I knew it was an excuse, but I played along. “Of course. Very important, homework.”
“Don’t mock me,” he said, but there was no heat in his words. Instead, a small smile played at the corner of his lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”
As he walked away, I couldn’t help but watch him go, admiring the confident way he moved through the crowd. It was different from how he’d been at the party. There was less desperate abandon and more controlled purpose. I liked both versions of him, I realized. The wild one who’d surrendered to pleasure without restraint, and this more measured one who calculated his risks.
I turned back to my paintings, trying to focus on the remaining guests, but my mind kept drifting to what would happen at midnight.Friends who fuck. The arrangement was perfect. It had all the pleasure with none of the risk. No chance of love, no danger of turning into seafoam. Just mutual satisfaction between two consenting adults.
So why did something still feel unsettled in my chest?
“Your work sold,” Professor Aurelia’s voice interrupted my thoughts as she approached with a small red sticker in her hand. “The one with the figure on the ship. Someone was quite taken with it.”
“Really?” I was genuinely surprised. My work rarely sold at student exhibitions. “Who bought it?”
She placed the sticker beside the painting’s description card and smiled mysteriously. “Theodore Voss. He paid the full asking price without even trying to negotiate.”
I stared at her, momentarily speechless. Teddy had bought my painting. The one with him in it. The one I’d jokingly priced at five thousand dollars. And he hadn’t even mentioned it to me.
“When?” I finally managed to ask.
“Just now,” she replied, studying my reaction with interest. “He seemed quite determined to have it. Said something about it being the first piece of art that ever spoke to him.”
I swallowed hard, unsure how to process this information. It was just a painting, right? It didn’t mean anything. Nearly all the witches at Widdershins came from wealthy families, so the money probably didn’t matter to him. And yet, the thought of Teddy wanting to own my work, wanting to keep that piece of me with him, stirred something tempestuous inside me.
“Well,” I said, trying to sound casual, “I hope he enjoys it.”
Professor Aurelia’s knowing smile told me I wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all her. “I think he will. Very much. It’s a beautiful piece.” She gave me a nudge with her elbow. “See what happens when you take my advice and talk to people? This could be your entire career, Nerion. You have a future in art, I promise you. You just have to be open to new ideas.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Like pretending all my work is some deep, dark, traumatic well of feelings?”
“Maybe a little less dramatic than that,” she grinned, despite my jab. “You could just admit that it meanssomethingto start, then figure it out from there.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Anyway, congratulations on the sale. I’ll have a check written out for you on Monday.”
With a small wave, she headed back into the crowd. But I didn’t care about the money or her advice about my work right now. Instead, I found myself staring at the red sticker beside my painting. Friends who fuck didn’t buy each other’s artwork, did they? Friends who fuck probably didn’t paint each other in the first place. What exactly had I gotten myself into?
And more importantly, was I already in too deep to get out?
Chapter 15
Teddy
Ifelt like a teenager sneaking out my bedroom window as I crept down the hallways of the dorm near midnight. Most everyone was asleep and even the RA’s were tucked away for the night. I was on my own, but I still felt like I was about to get caught at any moment, like I was doing something…wrong.
But I wasn’t, was I? I was allowed to leave the dorm whenever I wanted. And I was allowed to have sex with whoever I wanted too. Maybe it was against the rules to do it in the athletic building after hours, but I was willing to overlook that. My parents had eyes everywhere it seemed, and that required desperate measures to avoid their gaze.
And if I was being honest, it felt…goodto do something I knew they wouldn’t approve of. After all, I’d been working my ass off to impress them and to meet their expectations for my whole fucking life. Wasn’t it about time I got something out of it too? That didn’t seem like too much to ask. Of course, I’d already gotten my week of freedom, the one that I told myself would be enough.
But it wasn’t enough. And the more I thought of Nerion, the more I realized it wouldneverbe enough. I’d tasted the forbidden fruit and there was no going back.
So I headed across campus, keeping to the shadows. The night air was cool against my skin as I moved across the quad. My heart hammered in my chest, each beat a reminder of what I was about to do. Of who I was about to meet.
The athletic building loomed ahead, dark except for the faint blue glow that emanated from the pool area. I tried the door, surprised to find it unlocked. My heart skipped a beat. Nerion must have already arrived.
I slipped inside, the familiar chlorine scent hitting me as I made my way through the darkened halls. My footsteps echoed against the tile, and I winced at how loud they seemed in the silence. When I pushed through the double doors to the natatorium, my breath caught.
The pool was illuminated only by underwater lights, casting rippling blue patterns across the ceiling and walls. And there, cutting through the water with graceful strokes, was Nerion. His red hair looked almost black when wet, plastered against his scalp as he surfaced.
When he spotted me, his lips curved into a smile that made my knees weak.