b35 /b

    ANNA’S POV

    “Fuck,” Ryan cursed under his breath, grabbing a clean towel and quickly wiping himself off while I justy there, breathless, still wrapped up in everything that had just happened. He looked at me, his chest still rising and falling hard, and before I could bsay /ba word, he leaned over, kissed me again, slow and rough as if he wasn’t ready to go, and whispered against my lips, “I love you… and don’t even think about staying away from me. Because the more you try, the more I’m going toe for you.”

    I stared at him, heart still pounding,pletely speechless, and then the knock came again, louder this time, more urgent. His body tensed, and he pulled on his clothes quickly, buttoning his shirt with one hand while grabbing his shoes with the other, not even bothering to sit before shoving his feet into them. He grabbed his phone and his wallet, gave me onest look, and said

    “You can go ahead and call Mom back now…

    ut don’t lie to me again about staying away. It’s not happening.”

    Then he opened the door.

    The dorm coordinator was standing right there, looking up at him with a narrowed, suspicious expression while peeking inside and seeing me still on the bed, wrapped up in my nket like someone who had just been wrecked and couldn’t e otherwise. Her eyes flicked between us, judgment all over her face.

    t even pretend

    “You’re the only male left in this dorm room,” she said sharplyb, /bher voiceced with disapproval. “It’s time for you to leave nowb./b”

    Ryan didn’t argue. He just nodded once and said, “Sure,” as if he didn’t bcare /bwhat she thought. She turned and started walking down the hallway, and he followed her out without ncing back again.

    The second the door shut, I let out a long, shaky breath and dropped my head back on the pillow.

    I stayed there for a minute, trying to gather myself, trying to stop my heart from racing the way it still was. And then I sat up and got out of bed slowly, my legs a little sore, my body still tingling from earlier. bI /bgrabbed my towel and walked into the bathroomb, /bturned on the shower, and stepped under the water, letting it run down my skin while I closed my eyes and bit my lip because even though everything was chaotic, I couldn’t stop smiling. The things he said, the way he touched me, the way he didn’t pull away even when I asked him to, it all kept reying in my head like it was carved there.

    I was still smiling, my heart doing this stupid fluttering thing, when it hit me.

    “Shit,” I cussed out loud. Ryan cut Mom off. On a video call. While she was asking me about protection!

    The smile dropped from my face and I rushed through the rest of my bathb, /bdried myself off quickly, slipped into my clothes, and snatched my phone off the bed. The second I unlocked it, my stomach flipped. Six missed calls. All from Mom.

    I felt my body go cold.

    I didn’t even wait. I hit the call button, praying she hadn’t already tried to trace my location or something dramatic.

    She answered almost immediately.

    “Anna?” Mom’s voice was sharp, worried. “What happened? Why did you mute the call? Why did you cut me off like that? I’ve been calling you back to back!”

    “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “Thework’s been acting crazy. I didn’t mute anything on purpose

    I swear. The screen just froze and then the call ended. I was trying to call you back too.”

    She was silent for a second, then sighed. “Oh. Okay. Maybe your dorm doesn’t have good connection.”

    I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, probably.”

    “I asked you a question earlier,” she said, her tone softer now but still cautious. “But you didn’t answer. It’s fine though. That chapter is closed now, and it’s better that way.”

    b“/bbYeah/b,b” /bbI /bwhisperedb, /bheart still beating hard.

    Just take care of yourself, okay?” she said, her voice warming up again. b“/bThat’s all I care about ”

    Before I could even respond, I heard Dad’s voice in the background

    ‘Anna,” he said suddenlyb, /bas if he’d been waiting for a chance to lk. “Stay safeb, /bmy angel.”

    Then Mom cut the call.

    And I let out a long, relieved breath, finally able to exhale all the tension that had been crawling down my spine.

    **+15 bBONUS /b