Ariana's POV
I stared at my phone for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. The dorm room was quiet except for Becca’s soft breathing from her bed. I had been thinking about it all day; the café “date,” and the article meeting. The way Jace had looked at me when our hands brushed, the strange comfort I felt when he actually listened to me when I talked about my article.
It scared me.
But we needed to talk. Before this whole thing got any more confusing.
I typed the message quickly before I could change my mind.
Ariana: Can we meet somewhere private tonight? We need to set some real boundaries.
His reply came faster than I expected.
Jace: Yeah. The bench behind the old library? 20 minutes?
I took a deep breath, grabbed my hoodie, and slipped out of the dorm quietly.
He wa
