✤ Adrian ✤
By the time Friday night finally arrived, I felt like I had aged an entire year in a single week. Every day since the photo exchange had been a tug-of-war between my restraint and my desire, and restraint had barely managed to stay standing. Sera had stopped texting me, which was probably for the best. I had convinced myself she needed to focus on her workload. Midterms were creeping up, assignments were piling, and she was balancing far more than she let show. But if I was being honest with myself, I kept checking my phone anyway. Hoping. Waiting. Cursing myself each time when the screen stayed blank. So, when Julian suggested we go out for drinks after classes, I agreed faster than I should have. Hollow Crown was a bar halfway across town, tucked between an overpriced bakery
