ZULEIKA'S POV
“I need a car,” I randomly said as I walked out of a coffee shop with Freckles. It was her favorite place for cupcakes and brownies. The place was growing on me too. I took a sip of the coffee I had taken to go and glanced at her.
“Tell me about it. College life fuckin’ sucks, man,” she sighed.
“Good thing you've got your brother though, right?” she glanced at me and looked back down at her phone.I sipped my coffee again. “Yeah, definitely,” I sarcastically drawled. I appreciated Zade picking me up whenever I asked. He had never complained, but I would prefer to have my own car. It would give me a sense of autonomy over myself and my movements.
“I'm gonna get going,” I sighed, deciding I was going to skip the last class I had. I could not see myself paying attention so I just wanted to head back home and get some rest.
“‘Kay, see you later,” Freckles kissed my cheeks and headed off, still on her phone. She seemed distracted. On any other day, she would have persuaded me to go to class, but she hadn't. It seemed like she was going to skip her own too.
I got into the Uber I had ordered and headed off to the apartment.
*** *** ***
Hours later, I woke up with a slight headache in the back of my head, and some loud music playing outside my room. I rolled over and opened my eyes. When I got back, earlier in the afternoon, I had finished unpacking my stuff and I had successfully avoided Zade and Lanvin since neither of them had been home. I needed to learn their schedules so I would not have to see them all the time. Especially Lanvin.
I climbed out of my bed and headed to the bathroom. I washed my face and then went out to find something to eat or make dinner, since it was already twilight.The music was coming from Lanvin’s room which was across from mine. Of course he was the type to play loud music. He was probably lifting some weights too.
Suddenly my mind was consumed with thoughts of how his lean but muscular build felt against mine.I forced the thoughts out of my head and started scrolling through my I*******m as I headed to the kitchen. I had not had the time to go through the refrigerator when I got here the previous day and even this morning, but I had hoped that Zade and Lanvin were the type to have something to cook.
I found half a loaf of bread and some vegetables. I sighed. “Sandwich it is, then,” I muttered and pulled out all the stuff.
Halfway through making the fourth sandwich, I heard a door open and shut from the direction of the rooms.
I had not even noticed the music turn down. I continued spreading the avocado I had crushed over the bread and keeping my eyes on what I was doing. I ignored the anticipation that built in my stomach at his approach.He paused on getting to the area between the living room and kitchen. I mentally prepared myself and then looked at him. Nothing prepared me for the sight of him in a black tank top, moist hair and loose grey sweatpants. My eyes slowly traced up his body and to his face.
He was already looking at me. “I already ordered Chinese,” he and I pressed my lips together, glaring at him.
“Why didn't you say that earlier?” I asked and looked down at the sandwiches. I would take Chinese over them any day.
“I didn't even know you were home,” he scoffed. The sound of it scalded me. It sounded like he was mocking me. He did not care enough to know that I was home and he was speaking to me so casually, like he had not had me pressed up and heated against a door.
“Screw you,” I muttered and grabbed one of the sandwiches. I was no longer interested in his fucking Chinese food.
“What was that?” His head tilted to the side and I could not read the expression on his face. “You heard me,” I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, taking a seat at the island.
“I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, Zules,” he muttered, shaking his head. I found the act condescending. I wanted to offend him as much as he was offending me.
“You're not even worth my attention, Lanvin,” I said casually, deciding to ignore what he had just called me.“You're being mean for no reason,” he sighed.
“Aww, are you hurt? Go back to ignoring me.” I retorted.“Is that why you're so mad? You think I'm ignoring you?” His voice became tender.
Fury coursed through me and made me feel so hot that even I wondered what I was so mad about.
“I don't give a fuck, Lanvin. I don't even want to be here,” I spat.His eyebrows twitched and his lips became a thin line. “All you have to do is say the word and I'll move out. But I guess you're too much of a wimpy little bitch to actually say what you want,” his expression was brutal as he said the words.
He looked surprised at his own words. I could not take them. I dropped my half eaten sandwich on the island and stormed towards my room. My appetite was long gone.
“Zuleika,” he called my name as he came after me. I walked faster. “Zules wait, I didn't mean that…”I made it into my room and slammed the door shut before he could come in. I locked it behind me and headed straight to my bed, unsure of what to feel. My body was vibrating with something I could not explain.
I did not bother to decipher it. I didn't bother to answer the door when Zade came back later and tried to get me to come out for dinner. I hated my parents for subjecting me to this. And I hated myself more for not hating Lanvin completely.
ZULEKAI I saw him again and this was the tenth time he was crossing my view. And the day hasn't ended. He was playing with his team on the ice, fully dressed in his gear. He was talking to someone, more of like he was instructing them — which reminded me now he was the captain of the college hockey team — but I didn’t even try to look properly and find out what he was saying or doing.I acted like I didn’t see him. I kept walking straight like he wasn’t even there. Like I never knew him. Not like I knew him. I knew him as the best friend to my brother, Zade, and well my roommate now. That helped... ignoring him and pretending to know who he was helped other than gathering round the stand and watching them play and cheer on like the other girls were doing. If I didn’t see him, maybe I could get him off my mind. Maybe I could forget what he said to me this morning. Maybe I could forget what he did last night. Maybe I could forget how I felt when I was around him.I walked fast away fr
LANVIN POVI sat on the edge of my bed with my hands in my hair. My fingers pulled at my roots, playing and tucking at it. My breath came slow, then fast. I shut my eyes and tried to keep my chest from tightening again. But it was useless. I have been like this ever since I returned from school. My racing heart was getting worse as the minutes passed, despite everything I have tried to make it calm...it seems it just got more infuriated.“Calm down,” I whispered as if doing that would make it stop troubling me.But it wasn’t working.It was my wolf and I don't know what's wrong with it. My wolf growled inside me. He moved around like he wanted to fight. Or maybe he wanted to run. Or maybe…he wanted something else. And the only thing that has been making my wolf troubled for the past few days was Zules. He wanted her. Zukelai.“No,” I said out loud as realization dawned on me. “Stop it. I don’t even know what I’m feeling.”My wolf didn’t listen. He never does when it’s about her. He do
ZULEKAI I woke up slowly, my eyes blinking open one after the other. The sunlight slipped through the curtains and touched my skin, warm and soft. It was the light which rested on my face that woke me up. I would have still been enjoying the comfort of my bed and pillow. I stretched my arms and sat up on the bed. My stomach let out a low grumble and I sighed remembering the incident that happened last night.Fucking asshole! I spat out as memories of last night came washing into my mind in a large torrent. I would have eaten if he hadn't pissed me off. I shrugged it off and stepped down from the bed. But my heart was beating faster than usual. I touched my chest lightly, trying to figure out what was wrong when something crossed my mind....the dream I had last night. I remembered it vividly and even though the events of last night tried crumbling it off, it still remained intact.It was a hot dream. The hottest dream I had ever had was about lanvini. I didn't want to think about it r
ZULEIKA'S POV “I need a car,” I randomly said as I walked out of a coffee shop with Freckles. It was her favorite place for cupcakes and brownies. The place was growing on me too. I took a sip of the coffee I had taken to go and glanced at her. “Tell me about it. College life fuckin’ sucks, man,” she sighed. “Good thing you've got your brother though, right?” she glanced at me and looked back down at her phone. I sipped my coffee again. “Yeah, definitely,” I sarcastically drawled. I appreciated Zade picking me up whenever I asked. He had never complained, but I would prefer to have my own car. It would give me a sense of autonomy over myself and my movements. “I'm gonna get going,” I sighed, deciding I was going to skip the last class I had. I could not see myself paying attention so I just wanted to head back home and get some rest. “‘Kay, see you later,” Freckles kissed my cheeks and headed off, still on her phone. She seemed distracted. On any other day, she would have persua
ZULEIKA’S POVI stared out the window as I wondered for what had to be the hundredth time why I had agreed to moving in with Zade and Lanvin. I sat at the cornerP of my bed and stared at the pile of clothes that sat at the other side of the bed. I had managed to get my books and minor stuff into boxes. I did not want to clog their apartment space, especially since the bedroom I was going to be getting was smaller than mine here. I decided to pack my clothes minimally. I could always come back here and get some more. My phone rang and I dejectedly grabbed it. I took a deep breath when I saw that it was Zade calling. I needed to steady my breathing and add my casual lilt into my voice. I felt anything but casual. I was moving in with Lanvin Darkside for goddess's sake. “Hey,” I stood up and went back to folding, skillfully holding the phone between my cheek and shoulder. “We're pulling up now. You ready?” Zade spoke leisurely. Just as he said those words, I heard his car pull up in
ZULEIKA’S POVBoredom had clawed its way into my chest like an infection.It had been two days since I last spoke to my parents, and I still hadn’t made a move to pack up and move in with Zade. Honestly, I was stalling. I knew Mom must’ve told Zade about it by now, but I didn’t care. I ignored his calls like my life depended on it.To kill the boredom, I just scrolled endlessly through my phone, tapping on random videos, barely even watching.Zade hadn’t pushed yet. He was too busy juggling classes and gym commitments. As for Lavin… he was like a ghost. Or worse—an itch under my skin I couldn’t reach. He acted like nothing had happened. Like the kiss, my slap, and the entire emotional storm meant absolutely nothing. Like we were back to the usual game of taunt-and-ignore.And that annoyed me more than it should have.So when Freckles texted me about a frat party, I didn’t hesitate.Frat party tonight. Come get wasted with me before we both die of boredom. Also: slut fits required. No