Chapter 6: Aftermath

Wesley POV

“Fuck.”

I stood there in the rain like an idiot, watching Samantha run away until she disappeared around the corner. My lips still burned from the kiss. My dick was half-hard just from the taste of her and the way she had grabbed my shirt like she wanted to rip it off.

I ran a hand through my wet hair and cursed again. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like that. Not in the middle of a group project meeting with Donald right there.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out fast.

Samantha: Don’t text me. That was a mistake.

I typed back immediately.

Me: Bullshit. You kissed me back. Meet me at my flat tonight. We need to talk properly.

No reply. Ten minutes passed. Still nothing.

I headed straight for the hostel area, ignoring the rain soaking through my clothes. When I reached her building I stopped outside. I couldn’t just knock on her door like a creep. Instead, I sent another message.

Me: I’m outside your hostel. Come down. Five minutes. That’s all.

Still nothing. I paced under the shelter near the entrance. A girl with bright red hair stepped out, Angelina, her roommate. She spotted me and grinned like she already knew everything.

“You must be Wesley,” she said, looking me up and down. “Samantha just came in looking like she got chased by the devil. Or kissed by one.”

I gave her a small smile. “That obvious?”

“Very. She’s in our room changing out of wet clothes. She told me to tell you to go away if you showed up.” Angelina crossed her arms, still smiling. “But I’m not her keeper. She’s confused as hell right now. That kiss really messed with her head.”

“Good,” I said without thinking. “Because it messed with mine too.”

Angelina laughed. “Careful, basketball boy. She’s not like the girls you usually play with. She’s got real pressure on her. Scholarship, strict family, and the whole thing.”

“I know,” I replied. “I’m not trying to mess up her life. I just… can’t stop thinking about her.”

The redhead studied me for a second. “Interesting. Most guys don’t admit that so fast.” She nodded toward the door. “She might come down and she might not. So… Good luck.”

Angelina went back inside. I waited another ten minutes, leaning against the wall. Finally, the door opened again and Samantha stepped out, hair damp, wearing fresh clothes and a guarded expression.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” she said, stopping a few feet away.

“Not when it comes to you apparently.” I pushed off the wall. “That kiss wasn’t a mistake, Samantha.”

“It was,” she insisted, but her voice wasn’t as firm as before. “We were angry. It just happened. We have a group project to finish and I can’t let this ruin my grades.”

I stepped closer. “One kiss isn’t going to tank your precious GPA. But ignoring what’s happening between us might drive us both crazy.”

She looked up at me, those big brown eyes searching my face. “There is no ‘us’, Wesley. You’re a player. I’m focused on my degree. We don’t fit.”

“You felt it too,” I said, lowering my voice. “The way you kissed me back, the way your body pressed against mine. Don’t lie to me.”

Her cheeks flushed. She bit her lip and looked away. “Even if I did feel something, it doesn’t matter. Donald was right there. The whole group saw us argue and then I ran out. This is already messy.”

The mention of Donald made my chest tighten.

“Donald’s a good guy. But he’s not the one who just kissed you in the rain.”

Samantha crossed her arms. “And you think that makes you better? You corner me, tease me, then kiss me without asking. What if I didn’t want it?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You pushed me away after. Not before. And you kissed me like you were starving for it.”

She opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed heavily. “This is exactly why I told you to stay away. You’re distracting and dangerous.”

“Dangerous how?” I asked, stepping even closer until only a foot separated us. “Because I make you feel things you’ve never felt before?”

Her breath hitched. She didn’t deny it.

I continued, voice low. “Tell me you didn’t go back to your room thinking about my hands on you. Tell me you didn’t feel anything when I had you against that wall.”

Samantha’s eyes flicked to my mouth for a second before she looked away. “We can’t do this, Wesley. The project meeting is already awkward enough. I need to keep my head straight.”

“Then let’s make a deal,” I said. “We work on the project together properly. No bullshit. But after hours… we figure out what this is.”

She shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re stubborn as hell.” I smiled. “It’s hot.”

A small laugh escaped her before she could stop it. She quickly covered it with a cough. “I have to go back inside. Angelina is probably dying to interrogate me.”

Before she could turn away I caught her hand. “One more thing.”

She looked down at our joined hands, then back up at me.

“I’m not giving up on this,” I told her. “Whatever this is. So get used to seeing me around, Samantha Williams.”

She pulled her hand free gently, but not angrily.

“You’re going to regret pushing me, Wesley Adams.”

“Doubt it,” I replied.

She turned and walked back into the hostel. I watched her go, that familiar heat still burning in my gut.

Later that evening I got back to my flat. Donald was already there, playing video games with Jake.

He paused the game when he saw me. “You talked to her?”

“Yeah.”

Donald set the controller down. “Look, man. If you’re just messing around with her, back off. She’s not casual. I like her. I was thinking of asking her out properly.”

The words hit harder than I expected. I dropped onto the couch, tension running through my shoulders.

“You’re really going after her?” I asked.

Donald shrugged. “She’s smart. Pretty. Focused. Yeah, I am.”

I stared at the frozen game on the screen.

Samantha kissing me in the rain. Samantha smiling at Donald when he brought her coffee. The two images clashed hard in my head.

Before I could answer, my phone lit up with a message.

Samantha: Group chat is active. We’re meeting again tomorrow to assign parts. Please act normal.

I read it twice. Then typed back.

Me: Normal? After what happened today? Hard to be normal around you now.

Her reply came quicker than I expected.

Samantha: Try. For the sake of our grades.

I smiled at the screen, but the knot in my stomach stayed. Donald wanted her. Samantha was fighting whatever this was between us. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the way she tasted.

This was only going to get more complicated.