Chapter 48. After Party

ARDEN

I sat on my bed, knees tucked to my chest, mulling over the conversation Cade and I had in the garden. He had offered to sleep with me again, but this time, it didn’t sound offensive. Instead, it felt as though he had thrown an anchor into the stormy waters of my mind.

With a groan, I sank backward, pressing a pillow to my face with a muffled whine. “Why am I even thinking about this?”

Tessa, just emerging from the shower—the scent of her honey body wash wafting through the room—leaned against the door frame.

“You alright?” she asked, her tired smile doing little to mask her curiosity.

I slid the pillow away from my face and turned to her. I simply sighed and sat up. “I’m just thinking.”

Tessa gently closed the door behind her. “About Cade? I saw him walk you to our third class this morning. You also smelled like him during class.”

My face flushed at the memory of how he had silently guided me to class after our conversation. “What? No