Chapter 28: Luis’s POV

Luis’s POV

Those who said absence makes the heart fonder were absolutely right.

“Miss me?” When his voice reached my ear through his warm breath that sent shivers through my spine, I knew I had grown fond of this man.

Just now, I was about to have a breakdown because of Chen, yet here I was, closing my eyes in the empty hallway and leaning in for a hug I knew wouldn't happen.

Yes, I missed him. Of course, I did. But what would it change even if I admitted it?

At most, he’d smile at me, but he would never admit that he missed me back.

So when his arm wrapped around my chest, I jumped.

Not because I was startled—because, if anything, it was all I wanted.

But the heat that enveloped and dispelled my shiver was the reason for my reaction.

Because my thoughts were in the gutter the moment I smelled his cologne and turned around to see his handsome face.

Despite the fact that I saw it every day in my dreams, I still missed it so much and wanted nothing more than to plant kisses all over it.

“You feel bigger. Did you work out during the break?” he asked.

“And how is that any of your business?” Now that I was no longer in his one-handed embrace, I could think.

“Whoa, whoa, the dog finally learns to bite.” He stepped back, raising his hand in surrender, but I knew this guy.

He wasn’t giving in.

“I’m no dog!” I wasn’t going to give in either.

Him calling me a dog at this moment just acted as a trigger because it was what I really felt like.

I would run, crawl, swim to him the moment he showed a bit of interest.

Just like now.

“Oh well. Good for you, ’cause I'm allergic.” He said and rubbed underneath his nose, and I noticed the small stubs of mustache.

He looked slightly older, like he had aged a couple of years over the time I hadn't seen him.

Thanks to blocking him on socials, I didn't have it in me to look up his updates because I couldn’t bear to watch another video of a woman holding his cock on her face.

So I took my time off social media in general to focus on building a relationship with my family.

We stared at each other like that, eyes raking over our bodies as if to process all that had been missed.

Every part of my body his gaze met reacted to it.

Just like now.

He was staring below my groin, and every other function of my body stopped as blood rushed down there. Only then did he smirk after watching the shift in my pants.

Embarrassment washed through me, making me feel like it was no use asking how he got the cast on.

“I have class. I'll take my leave now.” I said and turned around.

“You’re really going to leave like last time?” he asked, and I froze in my steps.

This was what I expected of him. I wanted him to pull me back and kiss my senses out in the corridor of that party house. Instead, he had been the one to walk away.

I felt a clench in my chest, like it was being squeezed, but it didn't take away my courage to talk back.

“In case you forgot, I was the one who walked away.”

“Because you pushed me,” he shrugged. His excuse was a blatant lie I wasn't ready to expose.

“Look, Garber… I know there's something between us. Something you'll always deny,” I paused and stepped into him.

No breathing space. His chest met mine every time he inhaled, while my breathing stood at a standstill as I was basically devoid of oxygen.

“There is?” He cocked his face to the side.

Was he trying to kiss me or…

“...Yes,” I gulped, “so please stop trying to get involved in my life. I don't want to have such a toxic relationship.”

I stepped backward, no longer able to hide the fact that every time our chests bumped, my groin ached.

My trousers were starting to tighten more than I could handle.

And the bathroom was too far away to make a quick dash.

“So you don't want a toxic relationship?”

“Yes, especially not with someone like you!” I spat, hating how he could look so unaffected.

Didn’t he want to hold me? Kiss me? Fuck me again?

Or did his internalized comphet have such a strong hold on him?

“What about being friends?” he asked as he stepped closer, closing the distance I’d just managed to put between us, but that did nothing to muffle my shock.

“What?” I shouted and couldn't care about being seen or misunderstood right now.

“Garber Yarros wants to be friends with Luis the nerd? That makes no sense.”

“It's Luis Frontier, and if I'm not mistaken, we have about four classes together this term and might have applied to the same unis.”

He knows my surname.

Of course, he did. He even knew my house address.

“But that…”

“I see you just lost a friend, so how about I fill that gap?”

He was making sense, but he wasn’t at the same time.

Why would he want that?

“You can't… we can't be friends. You're too far away, plus you surround yourself with all those guys.”

I was stuttering. His words, his presence, his face card were almost distracting, and I wouldn't blame myself if I didn't feel like I was about to have a heart attack.

“I ditched them,” he said.

“Well, I'm happy for you. They were bad and toxic,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Yes, and I need a fresh start. Someone who would accept me for who I am.”

“And you think that person is me?”

“Absolutely. I thought about it for three weeks, and you can do the same.”

His eyes were shining with mischief as he presented me with this irresistible position in his life.

While I didn't believe I’d lost Chen as a friend, I knew I didn't have anyone on my side, and Garber really…

“You don’t mean it. This is a prank, right?”

“Maybe if you unblock me, you'd see that I'm really a changed person in need of new friends.”

He finally stepped away, that teasing smile still on his face.

“You have three weeks to consider,” he winked and was about to turn around when a third figure appeared.

“Rolland!” I recognized him immediately, a smile on my face.

But I wasn't the only one who knew him.

“Rolly, what are you doing here?”

Garber did too.

And he didn't seem the least bit happy about it as the smile on his face disappeared.