Chapter 14. Better If We Stay Away

2024

Amelia’s POV

I wasn’t really listening to Mr. Thompson. He was droning on about how it was never too early to prepare for college, but my mind was far from his lecture. It was caught somewhere between the flashing lights, the rhythmic pulse of the music, and the warmth of Adrian’s arms around me after he’d rescued me from that stranger at the club. The whole night played on repeat in my head, vivid and distracting.

A nervous flutter took root in my stomach as I replayed every detail. His smile—easy and confident. The accent that seemed to roll off his tongue without effort. The way his eyes sparkled with mischief, like he was in on a secret I wasn’t quite part of. Adrian was everything I didn’t want to be attracted to. Trouble, with a capital T. I’d always thought I liked serious guys—quiet, intense, brooding types—and Adrian was the exact opposite, and yet even I couldn’t deny how captivating it was.

But even as I felt a flicker of somethi