7. Aurora
AURORA
Daylight makes everything look worse.
Last night, it all felt a little unreal. The music was too loud, the lights were too bright, and everything moved too fast for me to stop and think about what I was doing. I just kept moving like I knew exactly what I was doing.
This morning, there’s no hiding in any of that.
There’s no music, no dark club, no crowd to disappear into. Just me, awake and sober, replaying every second of it with a knot in my stomach.
I wanted one night where I didn’t feel like the girl everyone was talking about. One night where I got to be somebody else for a while.
Instead, all I can think about is him seeing me.
Nobody I know would ever set foot in that club. So, what are the actual odds?
Statistically speaking, it’s gotta be, what, one in a thousand, that the universe would drop him—smug, infuriating, irritating—right in the middle of my first night in that club?
Of course he’d be there. Of course he’d see me the second I stepped on stage. Of course the biggest risk I’ve ever taken would end with him cornering me into giving him a lap dance.
There isn’t enough caffeine in the world for a morning like this. I shove through the café door with my sunglasses still on, shame prickling at the back of my neck. I keep my head down, hoping no one looks at me for too long.
I spot Maisie and Isabella, already tucked into their usual booth by the window, before they notice me. I head over and slide in beside Maisie, dropping my bag by my feet.
Maisie’s eyes flick to my face, and one brow lifts slowly, the silent question loud enough to hear.
I push my sunglasses up onto my head and force a smile. “So. What did I miss?”
Isabella’s mouth curves into a knowing smirk, her eyes narrowing just slightly. “You got home late last night. Where were you?”
“Out,” I say with a shrug. “At a party.”
“All night?” she asks.
A laugh slips out of me. “Well, I’m officially the only single one left, so someone has to have a little fun around here.”
I paste on a smile, but something weird settles in my stomach, because it really wasn’t that long ago that I was the only one in a serious relationship, even before I ever stepped foot on Colton U’s campus.
Then Isabella went and fell for Ryan—her dad’s player—and got her happy ending.
Then Maisie came into our lives when she started tutoring Austin. She was so quiet when I first met her, shy and nervous, but I liked her right away. She’s always been a soft, hopeless romantic, and now she’s fully out of her shell and completely gone for Austin.
And somehow, I ended up alone.
Isabella’s brows pull together. “You know we’d go with you if you asked.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. You’d last maybe thirty minutes before Ryan texted, or Austin called, and I’d be finishing my drink alone.”
Maisie lets out a soft laugh, her cheeks going pink. “Okay, fair. But next time, say the word. We can ditch the guys for one night.”
Yeah. Right.
I love them and I am genuinely happy for them. Maisie practically glows every time she says Austin’s name, and Isabella can’t get through three sentences without bringing up Ryan. It’s sweet. It’s real. It’s the kind of love I used to think I had.
But knowing they both have someone who loves them, who wants to always be around them, who picks them without hesitation… It's hard to sit here smiling like everything is fine when all I can think about is how unwanted I feel.
Sure, some guys still hit on me, but I see it in their eyes, the curiosity as to whether I’m as crazy as everyone claims. I’m so tired of the looks and the whispers.
I’m angry that what Chase did still follows me around like I’m the one who should be embarrassed by it.
Angry that I let that anger push me into something as reckless as signing up to work at a strip club.
Angry that lately, I don’t even feel like myself half the time.
Maisie bumps her shoulder against mine, dragging me back to the present. “Earth to Aurora. You kind of zoned out there.”
I smirk, tear off a corner of her croissant, because I need something sweet right now, and pop it into my mouth. “Sorry,” I say as I swallow it down. “Just planning your bachelorette party.”
She goes bright red. “Don’t even joke about that,” she says with a nervous laugh. “We are way too young.”
I snort. “You really think that would stop Austin?” I lift a brow at her. “That guy is gone for you. Honestly, I’m shocked he hasn’t asked already.”
She shakes her head, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “No. We’ve been together less than a year.” Her brows pull together. “I just… I want him to be sure. I don’t want him rushing in case he—” She cuts herself off and swallows. “In case he changes his mind.”
Maisie is smart. Scary smart, actually. One of the smartest people I know. But when it comes to Austin, she can be so stupid it’s almost impressive. The guy is obsessed with her. He’d probably throw himself in front of a bus before he let anything happen to her.
I bump my knee against hers. “Mais,” I say, my voice softening a little, “that man is so far gone for you it’s honestly embarrassing. There’s no saving him.”
Her chubby cheeks turn even pinker, tucking her hair behind her ear, and I nudge her shoulder with mine, smiling before I can stop myself. First smile I’ve managed in… longer than I want to think about.
But then Isabella’s eyes go wide, her whole expression changing so fast it drags me right out of it.
“Oh, no,” she says under her breath.
My smile slips. I glance at her, but she’s not looking at me. She’s staring somewhere over my shoulder. I turn in my seat, trying to see what the hell has her acting like that—
I freeze when my eyes land on Cole, standing in line with his hood up, and my mood tanks instantly.
I clear my throat. “I’ll be right back,” I mutter, lifting from my seat.
“Play nice,” Maisie calls after me.
I keep my head high as I cross the café, refusing to let anyone—especially him—see me hesitate.
He glances up, and his eyes catch mine beneath the edge of his hood. The muscle in his jaw jumps. I don’t know how he manages to look pissed off and smug at the same time, but somehow, he does.
My chest goes tight, my stomach dropping as every humiliating second from last night slams back into me.
“You stalking me now, Reaper?” I ask, stepping into line beside him.
He barely glances at me. “Didn’t even see you, Viper.”
I scoff. “Bullshit.”
He finally looks at me, his face giving away nothing except the tight set of his mouth. “Not everything revolves around you.”
“So it’s a coincidence that you just keep showing up wherever I am?”
He shrugs, flicking his eyes up to the menu over the barista’s head. “Campus isn’t that big. Don’t flatter yourself.”
The line shuffles forward. I open my mouth, ready to fire back, but he beats me to it.
“I didn’t realize you were so… entrepreneurial, Roxy.” Heat crawls up my neck at the smug look on his face, reminding me what he saw. What I did. “Guess they’ll let anyone up there these days.”
Fury flashes through me. “If you tell anyone about what happened last night—”
He scoffs, stepping up to the counter. “You’re not that interesting. I barely remember it.”
He turns away to order—black coffee, obviously, to match his bitter soul—but I stay right where I am, watching him.
Because he’s full of shit.
He’s trying so hard to act unaffected, like he didn’t sit there with his jaw locked and his hands gripping that chair for dear life while his body gave him away anyway.
But I saw him.
Felt him.
I know exactly what kind of effect I had on him, whether he wants to admit it or not.
“Yeah?” I say when he finally looks at me, tilting my head. “That’s funny. Your hard-on seemed to remember me just fine.”
The smirk drops off his face, his mouth flattening as his jaw flexes. “You were grinding your ass on me,” he snaps. “So yeah, I got hard. But don’t flatter yourself. I don’t want you. Not even if you were the last woman on earth.”
Heat climbs my neck so fast it makes me feel light-headed, anger and humiliation filling my veins. “Good,” I shoot back, my face burning. “Because I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
The barista sets his coffee on the counter, sliding it close enough that Cole has to lean in, and for a second, he’s back in my space, close enough for me to catch that cold look in his eyes. “You already did, Prescott.”
He straightens, grabs his coffee, and walks away without looking back.
I stand there for a second, my pulse still hammering in my ears, before I turn back to the table. The second I sit down, I can feel Isabella looking at me.
“Were you just talking to Cole Ellis?” she asks with a laugh. “Has hell finally frozen over?”
“Never,” I assure her. “Just told him to crawl back into whatever hole he came from.”
Maisie lets out a laugh. “Why do you two hate each other so much?”
Isabella rolls her eyes and leans back. “Don’t even bother. I’ve asked her a hundred times. All she ever says is that he ruined her life.”
Maisie’s eyes go wide. “How?”
“By breathing,” I say flatly.
That gets a laugh out of both of them, but I just pick at the corner of my napkin, refusing to let his words keep looping in my head.
No. Fuck that. I will not let Cole Ellis get under my skin.
So what if he’s got something he could use against me now? It’s not like I’m ever setting foot in that club again. If it somehow comes up, I’ll deny the whole thing and let people think whatever they want.
Last night was a mistake. One I’m not interested in replaying or admitting out loud to anyone. I just wanted one night where I was in control for once. One night where I got to decide who I was instead of feeling like everyone else had already decided for me.
Instead, I gave Cole the one thing he’ll never let me live down.