CHAPTER 18: OUR FIRST PRECIOUS KISS

(Cassian’s POV)

He pulled me closer before I could step back, his grip firm, almost deliberate. My breath caught.

"You shouldn’t have forgotten last night so easily," Leonel murmured, his voice a dangerous mix of soft and sharp. "You fell asleep in the middle of our first... precious kiss."

His words hit me like lightning. My face burned instantly, my thoughts tangling into chaos. Kiss? Our first kiss? My mind replayed fragments from last night the heat of his body, his lips brushing mine, my chest tight with a dizzying feeling I didn’t want to name.

Leonel’s fingers traced down the length of my arm where he held me, slow and deliberate, and a smirk tugged at his lips.

I couldn’t breathe. My heart wasn’t just pounding it was spiraling, threatening to burst right out of me.

But before I could react, a voice cut in.

"At least maintain distance in class."

I jerked my head to the side. Aiden. His expression was flat, but his eyes burned in a way I didn’t understand. He stepped closer, grabbing my other hand, and tugged me back with enough force to break Leonel’s hold.

"Ah-hey, that hurts!" I squeaked, my voice cracking. His grip was too tight, his knuckles white around me.

Aiden froze, realizing it. His hand dropped instantly. "O-oh. S-sorry..." he muttered, looking anywhere but at me.

I blinked, heart still racing, torn between the two of them. My arm tingled where Leonel had touched me, but Aiden’s grip had left a different kind of ache, sharp and confusing.

When I turned back, Leonel’s gaze was already locked on us, narrow and unreadable. His smile was gone. Instead, there was something sharper there, something he didn’t bother to hide.

He rose slowly, brushing past Aiden like he wasn’t even there, and patted my shoulder once. The weight of it lingered longer than it should’ve.

"Well," he said simply, his tone light but edged. "Let’s go back to our seats, Cassian."

I swallowed hard and nodded, my legs moving before my head caught up.

But even as we walked back, one thought gnawed at me.

That wasn’t just a kiss. That wasn’t just teasing.

And neither of them... were going to make this easy for me.

(third-person POV)

Even back in their seats, the tension between the three of them didn’t ease. Leonel sat across from Cassian, gray eyes sharp and calculating, every subtle movement betraying his intent. Each time Cassian needed a pen, a notebook, or even just a textbook passed over, Leonel’s hand twitched, ready to help first. His gaze followed every small motion, almost daring Cassian to notice.

But before Leonel could make a move, Cassian’s instincts kicked in. His eyes would flick to Aiden, who always seemed a step ahead, sliding whatever Cassian needed across with a small, knowing smile. Each time, Cassian’s hand would reach out instinctively, brushing past Leonel’s extended reach, taking the help from Aiden instead.

"Thanks," Cassian murmured, his voice low, still a little flustered from last night’s lingering tension.

Leonel’s jaw tightened, a subtle flash of irritation crossing his face, gone almost instantly as he leaned back, pretending nothing had happened. But his eyes remained on Cassian, sharp and watchful, calculating his next move.

It became a pattern. Every time Cassian needed anything even a sticky note or clarification from the professor Leonel’s hand twitched to assist first. And every time, Cassian’s instincts pulled him toward Aiden, who met his gaze with an easy smile, quietly offering support without question.

By the end of the lecture, the atmosphere between them had thickened. Leonel’s eyes occasionally flicked toward Cassian, narrow and unreadable, a subtle tension in his posture betraying more than he let on. Aiden, unaware of the storm brewing beside him, leaned over once more to hand Cassian a highlighter.

"Don’t let him get to you," Aiden whispered, and Cassian’s hand tightened instinctively around the pen he took from him.

Leonel noticed. Of course, he noticed. The faintest narrowing of his eyes, the imperceptible clench of his jaw it all signaled one thing: this wasn’t just about a class.

The lecture ended with the usual shuffle of chairs and murmurs of students packing up their bags. Cassian was just gathering his notebooks when a firm hand closed around his wrist.

"Leonel-" Cassian started, but the words died in his throat as Leonel’s grip tightened, dragging him toward the door.

Aiden, seated beside, froze. His hand shot out instinctively toward Cassian’s wrist, but by the time he realized, Leonel was already moving too fast. The space between them closed in a blink, and Cassian was swept along, his breath catching in his throat. Aiden could only watch helplessly, fists clenched, unable to follow.

Leonel stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway, slamming Cassian against a locker. The metal rattled slightly, echoing down the empty corridor. For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The hallway was deserted just Leonel and Cassian, tension thick enough to choke on.

Leonel’s eyes, sharp and gray, burned into Cassian’s. Anger, frustration, and something far more dangerous pulsed beneath the surface. He took a slow breath, forcing himself to remain in control. Every muscle in his body screamed to act, but he didn’t. Not yet.

"Do you even realize what you do to me?" Leonel’s voice was low, deliberate, and searing, each word dragging across Cassian’s nerves. His hands pressed slightly against the locker behind Cassian, closing the space between them.

Cassian swallowed hard, heat creeping up his neck and cheeks. His pulse hammered in his ears as he tried to find words, but his mind was a whirl of adrenaline, fear, and something dangerously thrilling. He wanted to explain, to protest but the intensity in Leonel’s gaze froze him in place.

Leonel’s control was evident, but every second he lingered, every deliberate inch closer, Cassian felt it the underlying tension of desire, the pull of something he couldn’t name but couldn’t ignore. His instincts screamed at him to move, to resist, yet a strange part of himthe part that had been trembling and flustered around Leonel all week wanted to stay.

And Leonel knew it.

He leaned just slightly closer, the heat of his body brushing against Cassian’s. "I should-" he started, then caught himself, lips parting ever so slightly. "-but I won’t. Not yet."

Cassian’s breath hitched, mind screaming with questions, confusion, and that undeniable pull.

Behind them, the hallway remained empty... but outside, footsteps echoed faintly, a reminder that nothing and no one would let this moment stay hidden for long.