Chapter 21 CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 21
YAEL
Classes ended late. My head was pounding, my phone buzzing nonstop with updates about the stupid charity gala.
At this point, if one more person said “Dean’s orders,” I was going to throw myself off the library steps.
I was halfway through checking the committee checklist on my phone when someone called, “Yael!”
I turned. It was this tall guy with dark blond hair and a grin that looked way too confident for someone wearing mismatched socks.
“Uh… hey?” I said slowly. “Do I know you?”
“Jake,” he said, walking beside me like we’d already met three times. “I’m on the logistics team. You’re the one Knox drafted last minute, right?”
My lips twitched. “Yeah. Against my will.”
Jake laughed, and it was easy, genuine. “I’d say sorry, but honestly? You looked like you needed the fun.”
“Fun?” I snorted. “Organizing tables, wine lists, and floral arrangements is your idea of fun?”
“Only when it means skipping class,” he said, grinning wider.
I shook my head, but a small smile crept up anyway. It was weirdly easy talking to him. No tension, no mind games. Just… simple.
“So where you heading?” he asked.
“To meet up with Maya and Jordan,” I said, pushing open the campus gate. “We’re doing dress shopping.”
Jake’s eyes widened dramatically. “Shopping? With three girls? I’ll pass.”
“Oh, relax,” I teased. “We’re not dragging you along. Maya would probably eat you alive anyway.”
“She sounds fun,” he said.
I smirked. “You have no idea.”
We turned the corner and spotted them near the café — Maya waving her arms, Jordan sipping a smoothie like she was too tired for emotions, and Liam standing beside them with his usual calm aura.
“Ladies!” Jake greeted. “And gentleman.”
Maya froze mid-wave, eyes widening like she just saw a celebrity. “Oh my God, who is that?”
I blinked. “This is Jake. Gala team. Logistics. Human being. Chill.”
Jake chuckled. “Hi.”
Maya practically preened. “Hi, Jake.”
Jordan leaned close to me and whispered, “She’s blushing. I repeat — she’s blushing.”
I bit my lip to hide my laugh. “Don’t tease her.”
“Too late,” Jordan murmured.
Liam just gave Jake a polite nod. “You’re on Knox’s team?”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “Trying to survive it.”
Liam smiled faintly. “Good luck with that.”
We all cracked up at that one because honestly, accurate.
After five minutes of easy chatter — mostly Jake and Maya bantering about who had better music taste — he checked his watch. “I gotta run. My shift at the tech lab starts soon.”
Maya’s face fell a little. “Oh, okay. See you?”
Jake smiled at her. “Yeah. Definitely.”
And then he left — but not before waving at me. “See you tomorrow, Yael.”
I waved back, fighting a grin. Maya turned to me so fast I almost flinched.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone that cute!” she whispered harshly.
“I didn’t know I was,” I said dryly. “He just appeared.”
“Well, he can appear anytime,” she muttered, and Jordan snorted so hard her drink nearly spilled.
We started walking toward the boutique, the sky already turning orange. Maya was humming, Jordan was scrolling on her phone, and I was wondering why my brain still had room to think about Knox when I clearly had other problems.
Like finding a dress that didn’t make me look like a cupcake.
The boutique was all glass and gold lettering. Fancy. Too fancy. I stepped inside first, brushing off the invisible nerves running through me.
“Okay,” Maya said dramatically, “rule number one: nothing over fifty dollars.”
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Girl, we’re shopping for a gala, not groceries.”
“I’m serious!” Maya said, rummaging through racks like she was digging for treasure. “I’m not wasting money on a dress I’ll wear once.”
I rolled my eyes and picked out a sleek wine-colored gown for her. It hugged the body, elegant but not too flashy.
“This one,” I said, handing it to her.
She turned the tag and froze. “Yael. Two thousand dollars?! No.”
“It’s fine,” I said calmly. “It suits you.”
“No no no— absolutely not.” She backed away like the dress was a bomb. “Put it back. I’ll find something cheaper.”
“Maya,” I said quietly, reading her face. There was something there — a flicker of discomfort, not pride exactly, just… fear.
I didn’t push. But I didn’t back down either.
“Try it on,” I said. “If you hate it, I’ll drop it.”
She groaned but eventually gave in. Five minutes later, she came out looking like she stepped out of a damn magazine.
Jordan whistled. “Holy shit. That’s it.”
Maya looked like she was trying not to cry. “It’s— it’s too much.”
“It’s perfect,” I said simply, going to the counter before she could argue.
“Yael—!”
“It’s done,” I said, handing the cashier my card.
She just stood there, clutching the bag like it was made of glass. “You didn’t have to—”
“I know,” I said. “Let’s go.”
She didn’t say anything after that. Just looked at me once — that quiet kind of gratitude people don’t say out loud — and smiled faintly.
By evening, we’d split. Jordan had to meet a professor, Maya left to help Liam with something, and I just wanted my bed.
But halfway through the walk back to my dorm, I felt it.
Someone was following me.
The sound of shoes hitting pavement behind me wasn’t just my imagination. I turned sharply, heart thudding.
“Who the hell—” I hissed, whipping out the pepper spray from my bag.
“Wait—Yael, it’s me!”
Too late. I sprayed.
“AHHH—” Liam’s scream was somewhere between agony and betrayal.
“Oh my God!” I gasped. “Liam?!”
He was blinking furiously, hands covering his face. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU—?!”
“You were following me!” I shouted back, hitting his arm. “Why didn’t you just talk, genius?!”
“I was about to! But you turned around like you were in a spy movie!”
“Maybe don’t sneak up on people at night then!” I snapped, still holding the spray like a weapon.
He groaned. “My eyes are burning— Jesus, Yael!”
“Serves you right,” I muttered, grabbing his arm to check he was okay. He was fine. Mostly.
After a minute of awkward silence and him blinking rapidly, he sighed. “I just wanted to thank you.”
I frowned. “For what? Assaulting you?”
“For Maya,” he said quietly. “She hasn’t smiled like that in months.”
Something in his voice softened the air between us. I blinked. “Oh.”
We stood there for a second — just quiet city sounds and fading embarrassment.
“I’m heading out,” he said finally. “See you tomorrow.”
“Try not to follow anyone else tonight,” I called after him.
He raised a hand without turning. “No promises.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway, slipping my pepper spray back into my bag.
For once, the walk back felt lighter. Maybe it was the cool air. Or maybe it was the faint sound of laughter still stuck in m
y head — Maya’s laughter.
And maybe, just maybe, it was because I didn’t notice the car parked across the street.
Or the eyes watching me through its tinted glass.