Mixed Signals - Chapter 3
341 Words
🎶 - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2eGSYXwYD51sAUPgoK4qsF?si=UmeOwiRiSpKlZO2qyiMK1A
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Zeva's POV:
The couch cushions sank under our weight as Jazmine and I settled in, red cups in hand. She was already laughing at something on her phone, but my thoughts were miles away.
Every time I blinked, I saw her face—Leya. The way she'd smiled when she called herself his girlfriend, like she was staking a claim. My stomach twisted, and I hated that I cared.
"Earth to Zeva." Jazmine nudged me with her knee. "You've been staring at the same spot for like... five minutes. What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, too quickly. I took a sip to cover it up, the alcohol burning all the way down.
Jazmine gave me that look, the one that meant she didn't believe a word of it, but for once she let it go. Instead, she stretched her legs out across the coffee table and tipped her head back.
"Fine. But if you're secretly plotting something, at least let me help."
A small laugh escaped me, tension easing just enough. That was the thing about Jazmine—she didn't push unless she had to. She just... stayed, steady and sure, until I found my footing again.
The music shifted, a slower song pulsing through the speakers, dimming the party's roar. For a moment, it felt like the whole house exhaled.
Then I felt it.
That shift. That pull. The way the air changes before a storm breaks.
My chest tightened, my eyes flicking instinctively toward the doorway.
And there he was.
Keith.
He moved through the crowd with that same easy confidence, shoulders loose, gaze scanning like he owned the room. For half a second, his eyes landed on mine—and everything else blurred out.
Jazmine was still scrolling on her phone, oblivious. But me? My grip on my cup tightened, heartbeat rattling against my ribs.
Because no matter how hard I tried to pretend otherwise, Keith had always been the one person I couldn't look away from.
- Writer
