Jade
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him–that impossible transformation burned into my brain like a fever dream I couldn’t wake from. The way his bones had cracked and reformed, the way his eyes had glowed in the dark… and then the way he stood there afterward, nearly naked, looking at me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.
Freak.
I’d called him a freak.
By morning, Zade didn’t come at the Brewed Awakening, even though I half-expected him to walk in just to make me flinch.
Instead, I worked the whole shift in silence, the hum of the espresso machine barely loud enough to drown out the storm in my chest.
Around noon, a girl with a high ponytail and glossy lips stepped up to the counter, her perfume hitting me before her voice did.
“You’re from the night class, right?” she asked, smiling. “I’m Hannah. You make really good coffee.”
She was tall and effortlessly pretty, with an off-the-shoulder sweater that screamed I don’t try hard but still win. Her eyes were ringed in perfect eyeliner, and her smile was just shy of rehearsed.
“Thanks,” I said, surprised. No one here talked to me unless they had to.
“You should come out tonight,” Hannah said, like it was obvious. “There’s a bonfire in the woods, off-campus but not sketchy, I swear. You need a break, and you’ve got that face like…” She paused, mock-pouting. “Like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”
I forced a smile. She wasn’t wrong.
“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”
If I couldn’t forget Zade, maybe I could drown him out instead.
***
The bass from the music thumped through the trees, sending vibrations through the ground under my boots. The so-called “college party” was nothing more than a group of students gathered around a giant bonfire deep in the woods, red Solo cups in their hands and questionable decisions in their eyes. The fire crackled and popped, sending sparks into the misty night sky. It should have felt exciting, a chance to be normal for once, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t belong here.
“Come on, Jade,” Hannah, whined, nudging me with her elbow as she handed me a drink. “You’re just standing there looking like someone kicked your puppy. You need to loosen up.”
“I’m fine,” I muttered, taking a tiny sip of whatever disgusting mixture she had shoved into my hand.
“You’re boring,” Hannah teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I dare you to do something wild tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Like what?”
Her grin widened wickedly as she tilted her cup toward a figure standing alone on the other side of the fire. My heart immediately stumbled in my chest.
Zade.
He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, half in shadow, half illuminated by the flickering light. His dark hair was messy as usual, his black jacket open just enough to reveal the hint of a black T-shirt underneath. He looked like he didn’t belong here any more than I did. And yet, every time my eyes found him, it was like the rest of the world blurred out of focus.
“I dare you,” Hannah said, practically bouncing with excitement, “to flirt with him.”
I choked on my drink, coughing violently. “Are you insane?”
She laughed, clearly enjoying my reaction. “What’s the worst that could happen? He turns you down? So what? Come on, Jade. Live a little.”
I hesitated, my heart hammering against my ribs. Every instinct told me this was a bad idea, that Zade was not the kind of guy you played games with. But another part of me, the part that was tired of being scared and confused, craved the thrill of doing something reckless.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I set my cup down and started walking toward him.
Every step felt heavier than the last. The closer I got, the more aware I became of him. His presence was like a physical force, pulling me in, making the air around him feel hotter, denser. By the time I reached him, my palms were sweaty, and my mouth had gone dry.
Zade’s eyes lifted slowly, locking onto mine with a lazy, unreadable intensity. He didn’t move, didn’t even blink. He just watched me, waiting.
“Hey,” I said, forcing my voice to sound casual even though I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.
“Hey,” he echoed, his voice a low rumble that slid under my skin.
I swallowed hard, suddenly realizing I had no idea what to say. Flirting was not my specialty. I wasn’t the girl who tossed her hair and giggled at dumb jokes. I was the girl who hid in the background and avoided attention.
“About yesterday…” I said, cringing internally at how stiff it sounded.
Zade’s lips twitched, not quite a smile but close. He tilted his head slightly, studying me like he could see every thought racing through my mind.
“Forget about it. I was hoping to see you here,” he said, his voice so casual it made my knees weak.
I blinked, caught off guard. That was not the reaction I had expected. I had thought he would brush me off or ignore me completely. Instead, he was leaning in slightly, his body language open and inviting, but there was a glint of something darker in his eyes.
Feeling emboldened by the alcohol and the heavy beat of the music, I decided to push a little further. “Oh yeah?” I teased, my voice softer now. “And why’s that?”
For a moment, Zade didn’t answer. His gaze dropped to my lips, lingering there just a second too long before returning to my eyes. When he finally spoke, his voice was a rough whisper that wrapped around me like a rope, pulling me closer.
“I’ve imagined your mouth,” he said, his words slow and deliberate, like he wanted them to brand themselves into my skin. “More times than I should admit.”
The world tilted around me.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. My entire body went rigid, my mind a blur of shock and something else—something hot and terrifying that pooled low in my stomach.
Zade’s words weren’t just a flirtation. They were a confession, raw and unapologetic. He wasn’t playing a game. He wasn’t teasing. He meant every word.
I could feel my face flush with heat, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe properly. His presence overwhelmed me, filled up every inch of space around me until there was nothing left but him and the way my body betrayed me by responding to his nearness.
My fingers twitched at my sides, aching to touch him even though I knew it would be a terrible idea. Every nerve ending in my body seemed to wake up, screaming for more, even as my brain begged me to run.
I had never felt like this before. Never wanted someone so badly and so fearfully at the same time.
Terrified by how deeply I was falling without even understanding why, I tore my eyes away from his and stumbled back a step, desperate to put some distance between us before I did something I couldn’t take back.