The rain hit without warning, sharp and sudden. Rina shivered as the first drops soaked her hair, tightening her hoodie around her shoulders. The sky over Halecrest had darkened to bruised gray, clouds pressing low, as if the campus itself were holding its breath.
She hadn’t made it halfway to the quad when a voice cut through the drizzle.
“Rina.”
Her heart skipped. She spun around.
Jace stood under the overhang near the steps, jacket shrugged off, phone in his hand like he’d been debating whether to call her. The sight of him—unexpected, familiar—tightened something deep in her chest.
“You’re going to get soaked,” he said, voice low, eyes flicking to the clouds.
“I’ll survive,” she said, tugging her hoodie tighter.
Without hesitation, he lifted his jacket, warm and faintly citrusy.
