Episode7: fire beneath the skin
1209 Words
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The night air bit at Lucy’s skin as she and Cassie stumbled down the steep driveway, heels clacking, lungs burning from adrenaline.
“What happened?” Lucy gasped, gripping Cassie’s arm.
Cassie didn’t stop. “A girl — second year — overdosed. They called campus security and the dean showed up with the police. They’re trying to shut the party down.”
Lucy’s heart pounded. “Did she…?”
“She’s alive. Barely. But if you’d been caught in there, you could’ve lost your scholarship. One scandal and you're out.”
Lucy swallowed hard.
Just minutes ago, she’d been on that balcony with Nate’s mouth on her skin, fire pooling low in her belly, and her brain screaming that this was dangerous — too dangerous.
But her body hadn’t cared.
That kiss had lit something inside her. Something feral. Something she didn’t want to admit had been buried under all her self-control.
And if Cassie hadn’t walked in—
No. She shook the thought from her head.
“Thanks,” Lucy said once they reached the roadside and caught their breath.
Cassie gave her a sharp look. “I don’t know what was happening on that balcony, but I know Nate’s style. He’s seductive. Addictive. But not safe. Be careful.”
“I can handle him,” Lucy muttered.
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Famous last words.”
---
They arrived at the dorm just before curfew. Inside, the halls buzzed with gossip about the party — the overdose, the dean’s surprise raid, rumors of suspensions and drug arrests.
In their room, Cassie peeled off her lashes and sat on her bed.
“You’re lucky,” she said. “You didn’t just catch Nate’s attention. You’ve got everyone watching now.”
Lucy frowned. “I didn’t ask for attention.”
“You don’t need to ask,” Cassie said, pulling a silk bonnet over her braids. “Not when you walk into a lion’s den like this.”
Lucy climbed into her bed, still in her borrowed dress. Her body buzzed — from the kiss, the chaos, and the thrill she wasn’t ready to face.
When the lights went out, her phone vibrated.
Nate: You okay?
Nate: You left fast.
Nate: I wasn’t done with you.
She stared at the messages.
Then, heart racing, she typed:
Lucy: Maybe next time, try not to get me arrested.
He replied instantly:
Nate: Worth it. You taste like sin and sugar.
Lucy turned off her phone and slid it under her pillow.
Sleep never came.
---
The next morning, campus was tense.
Elites was cleaning up its mess — quietly, of course, like the scandals of the rich always were. But the air buzzed with rumors.
Lucy tried to blend into the background during class, but that was impossible now. Girls glared. Boys stared.
Even professors seemed to pause when she entered.
She sat alone in the back of her Business & Ethics class — the irony not lost on her — when someone slid into the seat beside her.
She tensed, ready to snap, until she turned and saw...
Not Nate.
It was a different guy. Tall. Warm smile. Dimple in his left cheek.
“Lucy Adams, right?” he asked.
She nodded slowly. “Yes?”
“I’m Elijah. Elijah Park.”
“Okay…?”
He laughed. “Chill, I’m not here to bite. I’m your assigned project partner. Didn’t you check your email?”
Lucy blinked. “Oh… right. Sorry. Been… a weird week.”
Elijah grinned. “I bet. Word travels fast.”
She shot him a look. “I don’t believe everything I hear.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “That’s why I figured I’d talk to you instead of about you.”
Lucy relaxed a little.
Elijah was easy to talk to. Smart. Funny. Not too much. Not trying to flirt. Just… kind.
A refreshing change from the intense chaos that Nate Walker brought.
After class, they agreed to meet up later in the library.
As she packed her books, she spotted Nate leaning against a pillar outside the window. Watching.
Their eyes met.
He didn’t smile.
Neither did she.
---
Later that evening, Lucy met Elijah in the library. They studied, laughed, shared playlists, and discussed the ethics of capitalism over cups of weak vending machine coffee.
It felt normal.
But in the back of her mind, she felt eyes on her.
And when she exited the library — alone — she found Nate leaning against a wall outside, hands in his pockets.
“Making new friends?” he asked casually.
Lucy didn’t stop walking. “None of your business.”
He followed.
“Interesting choice,” he said. “Elijah’s nice. Safe. The kind you marry.”
She turned sharply. “And you’re the kind you regret.”
He smirked. “Probably.”
They stood there, the night wind ruffling their hair, electricity crackling in the silence between them.
“You’re angry,” he said.
“No,” Lucy replied. “I’m confused. One minute you kiss me like you’re going to consume me, the next minute you’re gone.”
“I didn’t go anywhere.”
“You’re toxic, Nate.”
He stepped closer. “And yet, you keep coming back.”
“I don’t—”
He cut her off with a kiss.
Hot. Rough. Hungry.
Lucy gasped as his hands gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her mind screamed walk away, but her body leaned in.
His mouth devoured her.
And when he backed her into a quiet corner near the dorms, her breath caught as his lips found her throat, his fingers grazing the hem of her shirt.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered, voice hoarse.
She didn’t.
He kissed lower. Down her collarbone. His fingers slipping under her top, grazing skin.
She arched into him, a soft moan escaping.
But then—
A door opened nearby.
Voices.
Lucy pushed him away, breath ragged.
“I… I can’t.”
Nate looked at her like she was both a puzzle and a fire he couldn’t put out.
“I’ll wait,” he said simply.
And then he was gone.
---
Lucy sat on her bed that night, heart still thudding, her body aching in ways she couldn’t admit.
Cassie entered, raised an eyebrow. “You look like you’ve either sinned… or want to.”
Lucy didn’t answer.
Cassie dropped her bag. “He’s getting under your skin, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know what he wants.”
Cassie sat beside her. “Nate doesn’t even know what he wants. That’s what makes him dangerous.”
Lucy looked down at her hands.
“But if you give in,” Cassie continued softly, “don’t do it halfway. Don’t fall soft. Fall hard. Or don’t fall at all.”
Lucy said nothing.
But she knew she was already falling.
And worse… she didn’t want to stop.
---
Later that night, her phone buzzed again.
Nate: If I asked you to meet me right now… would you come?
She stared at the screen, fingers trembling.
And then, against all logic, all reason, and every warning voice in her head…
She typed:
Lucy: Send the location.
---
- Writer
