6

Chapter 6

Aria's POV

I grabbed my bag and stormed up the stairs with my whole body shaking. I shoved through the door and almost crashed into a woman standing right outside.

Dark hair. Tight bun. Sharp‚ watchful eyes that flicked from my flushed face to the closed door behind me and back again.

"Sorry‚" I muttered.

"No problem." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm Maren Vale. Professor Stone's TA. And you are?"

"Aria Brown."

"Aria." She repeated it slowly‚ as if committing it to memory. "Everything okay in there? You seem flustered."

"Enrollment issue. All sorted."

"Mm." She glanced at the closed door one more time. "Well‚ if you ever need anything‚ my office hours are on the syllabus."

I walked away without responding and felt her eyes follow me all the way down the hall.

Jace was waiting in the cafeteria with two coffees just like he promised. I dropped into the seat across from him and he slid one over.

"You survived. What'd he want?"

"Registration problem. Nothing interesting."

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

"Well that's a relief. For a second I thought you already had beef with a professor on day one." He laughed and leaned back. "So… I've been thinking. Me and you‚ Friday night. What do you say?"

"I'll think about it."

"That's not a no. I'm counting that as a win."

I wrapped my hands around the coffee and forced myself to breathe. Jace was easy to be around. Uncomplicated.

I needed uncomplicated right now.

"Aria!"

I looked up and Silvia was walking toward us with her bag over one shoulder and her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She looked like she'd been running between buildings‚ which knowing her schedule‚ she probably had.

"I've been looking for you everywhere‚" she said‚ dropping into the chair next to me. "My Pack Psychology lecture got moved to this building so now I have like a thirty-minute gap and I'm starving and—" She stopped. Looked at Jace. Looked at me. Looked back at Jace. "Hi. Who are you?"

Jace smiled. "Jace Thornton."

Silvia looked at me with raised eyebrows that very clearly said “explain”.

"Jace is in my Constitutional Pack Law class‚" I said. "Jace‚ this is Silvia. My best friend."

"Best friend and emotional support system‚" Silvia corrected‚ reaching across the table to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you‚ Jace Thornton. How's Professor Stone? I've heard horror stories."

"Cold as shit‚" Jace said. "But Aria here got a private audience with him after class so maybe she can put in a good word for the rest of us."

Silvia turned to me. "Private audience?"

"Enrollment issue‚" I said quickly. "It was nothing."

Silvia stared at me for a second too long. She knew me better than anyone and even though she didn't know about what happened between me and Kael‚ she knew things at home had been tense since the cheating blowout. I could tell she was clocking the tightness in my jaw and the way my hands were gripping the coffee cup a little too hard. But she didn't push. Not in front of Jace.

"Okay‚" she said lightly. Then she stole my coffee and took a long sip. "So what are we talking about?"

"I was asking Aria out‚" Jace said casually.

Silvia nearly choked. "On day one? Bold move."

"I'm a bold guy."

"She said no‚ didn't she?"

"She said she'd think about it."

"That's Aria for no." Silvia grinned at him. "Don't take it personally."

"I never do."

They started talking and I sat there letting their conversation wash over me while my heart rate slowly came back down from wherever Kael had sent it. Silvia was already grilling Jace about his major and his pack and whether he had a criminal record‚ and Jace was handling it with the kind of easy charm that made it obvious he'd talked his way out of plenty of situations before.

They didn't know each other five minutes ago and they were already bickering like siblings. Under normal circumstances I would have loved this. My best friend and my new classmate getting along. Easy. Simple. Fun.

But nothing about my life was simple anymore.

Because just minutes ago‚ I had almost kissed my stepfather again.

And this time‚ there was no mask to hide behind.