Tangled love

Ice and Fire

MIKE’S POV

The morning after the party, I woke up with a headache which had nothing to do with the beer. Sunlight streamed through the blinds of my apartment, mocking me as I stared at the ceiling.

What the hell was that last night? One minute, I’m minding my own business, introducing myself to Luke’s sister’s new friend, and the next, she’s in my face calling me a spoiled asshole.

I replayed the scene in my head for the tenth time and my dumbass joke. “Smooth, Harrington. Real smooth.” I mentally scold myself.

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand now, thumbing open the messages for the hundredth time. Still nothing. No read receipt, no typing bubbles, no response at all. Just Delivered. That’s it.

Maya had practically forced her number on me last night as I was leaving the party after the whole drama . She’d cornered me on the porch, arms crossed, looking more serious than I’d ever seen her, telling me to fix whatever I’d just done.

I’d rolled my eyes but did it anyway and now twelve hours later, radio silence??.

I tossed the phone onto the bed with more force than necessary. Great. She probably deleted the text the second she saw my name. Or blocked me.

Who reacts like that? Most girls would laugh it off, flirt a little, especially with me. But not her. She went straight for the jugular, throwing my privilege in my face like I’d personally offended her entire existence. It pissed me off. And yeah, maybe bruised my ego a bit. I’m not used to girls looking at me like I’m the problem.

I rolled out of bed, grabbed my phone. A text from Riley…

“I miss you babe, please let’s meet up?.”

Delete.

Another from Dad—- saying something about a board meeting and he expects me to be there. I ignored it. I can’t deal with this right now, I have enough going on already.

I needed a workout to clear my head.

The campus gym was packed with the usual crowd—freshmen trying too hard, athletes grinding. I spotted Luke on the treadmill, earbuds in, looking way too chipper for someone who’d closed down the party very late last night. I’d left them at the party.

I hopped on the machine next to him, ramping up the speed. After a few minutes, he pulled out an earbud. “Dude, what was that drama with maya’s friend last night? She lit you up.”

I grunted, keeping my eyes on the mirror ahead. “Yeah. What’s her deal? Daisy, right?”

Luke chuckled. “Daisy Thompson. I don’t know…

“She’s got fire, though,” Luke added, grinning. “Kinda hot, right?”

I shrugged, increasing the incline to shut him up. “Too judgmental for my taste. Thinks she knows everything about me after five seconds.”

But even as I said it, I couldn’t shake her. The way her cheeks flushed when she yelled, the spark in her eyes. It was… intriguing. Annoying, but intriguing. Girls like Riley threw themselves at me, easy and predictable. Daisy? She saw right through the bullshit. I finally shake the thought off my head.

After the workout, I hit the showers, letting the hot water wash away the sweat and the lingering frustration. By the time I stepped out, towel around my waist, I was ready to forget the whole thing. Move on. Plenty of other distractions on campus.

Until I turned the corner by the lockers and ran into Riley.

She was in her workout gear—tiny sports bra, leggings that left nothing to the imagination—leaning against my locker like she owned it.

“Hey, stranger,” she purred, flipping her blonde hair. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Riley.” I kept my tone flat, grabbing my bag. “What do you want?”

She stepped closer, trailing a finger down my arm. “Come on, Mike. I couldn’t stop thinking about you last night, I miss you Mike… I miss us…. Remember how good we were together?” Her voice dropped, eyes batting. “ Why don’t we just skip classes. We can go back to your place, forget the break nonsense we talked about.” Raising her hands to touch my face.

I caught her wrist gently but firmly, stepping back. “We’re done, Riley. I told you that already. Move on.”

Her smile faltered, turning sharp. “Is this about someone else?… are you seeing another girl”

My jaw tightened. “It’s about me not wanting this anymore. So Back off.”

I brushed past her, leaving her fuming in the steam-filled air. But as I pushed through the gym doors into the sunny quad, Daisy’s face flashed in my mind again.

What the hell was wrong with me?