All Chapters of Burning Embers: Scorching Tales of Desire : Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

Time slipped by in unspoken glances and stolen rituals, the kind of moments that threaded themselves into muscle memory without either of them realizing. One semester vanished like mist at dawn, gone before they could name it, yet lingering in the fibers of everything they touched. It had started with shared space, shared schedules, shared silences after class. But somewhere along the way, it had stopped being about the room. Or the textbooks. Or the convenience of two people coexisting. It was about each other now. And they both knew it. Knew it like you know when the rain is about to fall, quiet, inevitable, heavy. They never said a word, but the truth clung to them in every charged pause, every glance that held just a fraction too long. It hummed between them, low and dangerous, like something alive. Jonas had memorized Rafael without trying. The way he tied his towel low and loose on his hips after a shower, water still dripping down

The dorm room was quiet, eerily so. Only the low hum of the old fan and the occasional shuffle from the hallway filled the silence. Rafael stared at his phone, Jonas' message glowing back at him like a taunt. "Out late tonight. Don't wait up. Lock the door, I've got my keys." Attached was a group photo, taken in poor lighting, but clear enough. Jonas was smiling, standing too close to Lars. The guy's arm casually draped behind him. Like it belonged there. Rafael's jaw tightened. He zoomed in. Again. And again. That smile. That closeness. Jonas looked happy. But not with him. The phone landed face down on the desk. He didn't mean to throw it. He just… couldn't look at it anymore. He stood, pacing the tiny space between their beds like a caged animal. Jonas hadn't done his laundry. The pile sat there in his usual lazy heap by the corner, still warm from the week's wear. Rafael's breath