Today had to be one of the worst days of my life. I'd already started the morning exhausted and miserable thanks to the nightmares I'd had the night before. Then, as if that wasn't enough, I'd stopped by my place to shower and change, only to be greeted by a horrifying mess that tanked my mood even further. And the final blow—walking into school and seeing the exam results posted on the board—was what completely drained whatever life energy I had left.
Oh my God. My grades were so bad I didn't even want to call those numbers "results." If I'd only done poorly in one or two classes, I wouldn't have been this devastated. But I was below average in all of my first midterms, and in two of them I wasn't even at a level that could be counted into the average.
Which meant I had nine classes I'd have to fix in the second midterms, and just thinking about how much I'd have to study was enough to make my head spin.
As I headed toward the exit of the department building, I let out a deep sigh and tugged at the hair that had fallen into my face. Staring blankly at the path ahead, I reached the entrance and lifted my hand to push the door. Someone opened it from the other side and stepped aside so I could pass, and I murmured quietly as I walked out.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I was about to continue on with my sluggish steps when someone threw an arm around my neck and kissed my cheek out of nowhere. I snapped my head toward him.
"Mete!"
"Did you miss me, angel? Ah—but wait. Before that, I've got a more important question. Do you know that handsome guy who opened the door for you?"
Frowning at the huge curiosity sparkling in Mete's bright green eyes, I turned around to see who he meant. I watched the guy—who had stepped back inside after me—turn into the corridor where the copy center was and disappear from sight. Since I'd only seen his back, I shrugged carelessly.
"I didn't look at his face when he opened the door, but I don't think I know him."
"If I had a boyfriend as hot as Kerem, I wouldn't look at other guys either. Anyway, it's fine. I'll figure out who he is."
I rolled my eyes and turned back to my grinning friend.
"First, as you very well know, Kerem and I are not dating. SSecond, I don't know if I'm the weird one for believing you—or if you're the reason I've started thinking it's normal for you to track down random guys from a school you don't even attend. I genuinely have no idea."
He laughed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and looked at me with an innocent expression in response to the indecisive way I was studying him. I sighed helplessly and shook my head.
And since he'd taken a step away from me, I could finally take in what he was wearing—an outfit that was wildly inadequate for the weather.
The black leather jacket fit him so perfectly it showed off his muscular arms, and the deep V-neck black sweater under it offered a generous view of his sculpted, smooth chest—but the fabric looked pretty thin. His ripped skinny black jeans made his long, straight legs look great, but they didn't exactly look warm either. The only smart choice in that sexy-but-seasonally-wrong outfit was probably his black combat boots.
"If I didn't know you're in love with Kerem, I'd swear you were undressing me with your eyes, Duru."
With his flirty grin, I gave him a dry look and pointed at his clothes.
"Trust me—if my eyes could do anything to you right now, it wouldn't be stripping you. It'd be putting you in three extra layers, Mete."
When he laughed and shrugged, I sighed, looped my arm through his, and kept walking.
"Come on then, hot boy. Before you freeze—or before I freeze while looking at you—let's go drink something that'll warm us up."
"Ah, but sweetheart, we both know anyone looking at this sexy body wouldn't even have the chance to feel the cold through their fiery fantasies. But fine, whatever you want. Besides, you owe me coffee."
When he winked with that charming smile, I rolled my eyes at his arrogance, even though I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face.
After a few minutes of being assaulted by the sharp, icy wind, we finally stepped into the shared cafeteria and sat at one of the wide tables with the long three-seater benches. When I turned to pull my phone out of my bag, I shook my head in resignation at the hungry stares the girls at nearby tables were aiming at my friend. Folding my arms over my chest, I crossed my legs and leaned back.
"So… what brings you here? I thought you didn't like coming to our campus."
He glanced at a notification, sighed tiredly, and tossed his phone back onto the table. Then he leaned back into a relaxed posture. His confidence and careless ease matched every girl's bad-boy fantasy. For us, however, it also marked him as untouchable—and therefore, a disappointment.
"To be honest, I don't even know why I'm here yet. Your not-boyfriend called this morning and said he had something important he needed to talk to me about. I came as soon as my class ended, but I wanted to see you guys first. By the way, where's Aylin?"
His answer derailed my thoughts and left me confused. I leaned forward and rested my arms on the table.
"She had to talk to one of the professors. She'll be here soon. Also, I was with Kerem this morning, and he didn't mention calling you. I don't know what it's about, but I'm honestly surprised he wants to talk to you. He didn't seem to like you at all."
A very handsome waiter brought our coffees, and I cut my sentence off mid-way, pulling my steaming cup closer and taking a small sip. Then I wrapped my hands around it, enjoying the gentle warmth spreading into my frozen fingers.
I didn't miss the way Mete flirted with the waiter in the cutest way possible, either. When the waiter laughed and walked away, my friend watched his retreating profile with a roguish smile. Then he noticed the deadpan look I was giving him and turned to me.
"What?"
"Stop doing that. One day you're going to get us into real trouble."
Without looking at me, he lifted his cup, blew on it, and watched the foam on top shift and dissolve as he shrugged.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
I rolled my eyes, decided not to drag it out, and returned to our earlier topic.
"Anyway. If that Hotshot says or does anything nasty to you, I want you to tell me immediately, Mete!"
He raised a brow and studied me with a strange expression, but I ignored it and kept going.
"Even if he has habits that get on my nerves, I never thought he was narrow-minded. Guess I was wrong. It doesn't suit someone like him at all but… whatever. If he messes with you, he'll have to deal with me. No one gets to bother my friends except me."
He laughed at my heated defense and lifted a hand.
"Wait, wait. Do you seriously think Kerem doesn't like me because I'm gay?"