登入089YOU'VE GOT THIS AURORA My chest heaves as I grip my phone to my ear, trying to place a rhythm to Jayden's steady breathing on the other end of the line."Where are you? I'm turning into your dorm loop right now...""Get inside, Jayden," I cut him off, my voice shaking so hard the words barely make it out. "Right now. We need to talk." "Wait, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?""Just get in her!"I press end before he can answer. Across the lobby, Malia is still staring at me, her fingers tightening and untightening around her coffee cup. To be honest, I don't know how she's still holding that thing. I'd have thrown it all into the trash because of the situation.A second later, the glass doors open and Jayden strides into the lobby, his keys jingling in his hand, a look of sheer worry etched across his face. If I wasn't this stressed out, I'd have had the luxury to take in how good he looks this morning but then... He stops dead in his tracks. His eyes dart fro
088MALIA AND AURORAAURORA The next morning, the sound of my alarm feels less like a nuisance and more like a gentle push into a world that suddenly feels a hundred times brighter. I lay in bed for a solid five minutes just staring at the ceiling, a doped-up smile plastered across my face as I replay every second of last night.Jayden’s text from 1:14 AM is still sitting at the top of my lock screen, Sleep tight, sweet girl. Can’t wait for tomorrow."If you don't stop glowing, I'm going to throw a pillow at your head," Kenzie’s groggy voice rasps from across the room. She’s propped up on one elbow, her eye makeup slightly smudged from the night before, giving me a narrow-eyed glare. "Seriously, Aurora. It's seven in the morning. It's unnatural.""I can't help it," I say, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. My ankle feels completely solid... no pain, no stiffness, just like the doctor promised. "I have a morning lecture with Professor Miller, and then I'm meeting Jayden near
087GLOWY PHASEAURORAThis feeling is bliss. Yeah, the one where you know you don't have to fret or worry because your boyfriend is the best you can ever think of. He's really a full package if you ask me. I mean... what doesn't he have? He's attentive, ridiculously handsome, devastatingly kind, and somehow, impossibly, mine.I feel completely content watching the dark streetlights sweep past us as he drives me back to my dorm. The low hum of the dashboard lights casts a soft, golden glow across his side profile, highlighting the focused line of his jaw and the gentle curve of his mouth. I actually would have loved to spend the night in his bed, wrapped up in his sheets and his arms... but I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands to myself, and I'm not ready for anything too fast just yet. I want to savor this... every tiny milestone.Right now, as he steers with one hand on the wheel, his free hand is resting on my thigh. My fingers stay casually threaded over his, thumb tracing
086UNDER THE STARRY SKY JAYDENThe ringtone barely completes two cycles before her voice comes through the speakers, fucking calming me and easing my breathes. It takes just her voice to make me focus and gain control again."Jayden?"I exhale. "Hey,""Hey," she says back."Are you at your dorm?"There's a little shuffling and I might be mistaken but I hear a cackle and then Aurora says. "Yeah, just got back a little while ago, actually."I raise a brow. "Where you out before?""I went to see Coach Sarah. She came by yesterday, and... well, we went to the doctor."Right. Stupid me for forgetting to ask if she later went to see the doctor. "That's right. About that. What did the doctor say? Tell me you're not walking around on a torn ligament."She lets out a quiet, melodic laugh that goes straight to my head. "The doctor said I'm a medical anomaly, Jayden. Zero inflammation, full structural integrity. I got cleared. Full contact, high-impact. I’m going back on the ice."I pull up to
085SHE DOESN'T HAVE A MANIPULATIVE FATHER JAYDEN"In case there's an emergency."That was what Richard told me. He didn't tell me his daughter would show up unannounced to my dorm room at the crack of dawn, sporting two massive hard-shell suitcases and a heavy canvas duffel bag. I groan, shutting my eyes and running a hand through my hair. This isn't what I signed up for. I fucking hate when people take advantage of the situation just because they assume you don't have the leverage to say no. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I finally rasp out, my voice still thick with sleep. She doesn't answer right away. Her brown eyes lazily trail down my bare chest, tracing the outline of my abs, before drifting back up to my face with a slow smirk. "Don't you look good in the morning?"I glance down at my gray sweatpants, shaking my head. What the fuck is she on about? I have wild bedhead, a scowl carved into my face, and morning breath, but because I'm shirtless, it's an eye candy to he
084TIME FOR HIMAURORA While I'm panicking and blaming Kenzie for doing what she's just done, someone knocks on the door. That has to be Coach. I smooth down my shirt, taking a deep breath to steady my pulse before calling out, "It's open, Coach!" The door pushes inward, and Coach Sarah steps into the room. She’s wearing her standard team windbreaker, her clipboard tucked under one arm, hair pulled back in a tight, non-nonsense bun. Her sharp eyes sweep the small room, taking in Kenzie sitting on her bed before settling heavily on me. "You must be her roommate, Kenzie," Coach acknowledges with a brief nod. "I'm famous, yay," Kenzie grins before quickly slipping off her bed and grabbing her hoodie from the chair. "I'll give you guys some privacy. Good luck, Aurora." She shoots me a quick, surprisingly supportive look before ducking out the door, letting it latch shut behind her. Coach Sarah doesn't waste time. She pulls up the desk chair, turning it around to sit with her arms
006FIRST DATING RULE IN THE HISTORY OF TIMEAURORA Already dating? I stare at Jayden, my brain desperately trying to process the insanity of what he just said. The ringing in my ears almost drown out his words. Already dating? Which means that I cheated. I cheated on Brian. "Are you out of your
005DATING 101AURORAI stare at my phone after the call ends, my reflection blurry through the tears still clinging to my lashes.Typical.Even from miles away, my mother still somehow manages to comfort me and bully me at the same time.A watery laugh escapes me before I wipe at my face again. Go
002RULESAURORA "You're the figure skater."I stare at him. Then I narrow my eyes. "You say that like that's a bad thing.""Oh, it is," he says dryly. "When she's apparently going to be staying in my room."Excuse me? I fold my arms across my chest. "Your room?" He legs out a humorless laugh bef
001ROOMIE AURORA Her side of the room is a hot mess. My roommate I mean..Clothes are hanging halfway out of drawers and the bed looks like somebody wrestled a bear on it and lost.I stand frozen in the doorway of Dorm C, Room 214, one hand gripping the handle of my suitcase while the other clu







