I dug my spoon into the ice cream tub and shoved a huge bite of strawberry into my mouth. Without taking the spoon from my lips, I glanced at my friend sitting beside me. The second he was about to turn toward me, I immediately faced forward again and stabbed the spoon back into the tub. This time I stole a piece from the chocolate side.
I nibbled at the ice cream on my spoon while watching the couple on the screen argue, but I kept checking Mete with my peripheral vision. The moment he caught me sneaking looks, I snapped my eyes back to the movie.
I pretended to watch for a few seconds, trying not to look suspicious. Then I turned to him again.
"Okay. That's enough."
He paused the movie and turned to me with a glare. "Whatever's in your head, say it and spare both of us this torture, Duru!"
I set the ice cream tub on the nightstand, then turned to him and sat cross-legged, practically vibrating. "It's Efe."
Mete slapped his hands over his face in defeat.
"Ahh! I should've seen this coming!" He leaned his head back and exhaled loudly, then looked at me again. "What happened to Efe?"
"I've been thinking, and I seriously can't figure it out. He's gorgeous, like model-level gorgeous, and he's in your league. And most importantly, he's unbelievably sweet and polite. And now that I think about it, he was shy when he was talking to Feyza too, like… pure sugar. And did you see how he blushed when I hugged him? I swear, I wanted to squeeze him. He looked exactly like a big, adorable baby panda with pink cheeks-"
Mete rolled his eyes dramatically and cut me off. "We get it, Duru. The kid's a jar of honey. Get to the point."
I narrowed my eyes and stared at him with obvious disapproval. "Sometimes you're annoying in a way that's way too similar to Kerem."
"Very normal. We're both sexy, handsome, and smart," he shot back with a smug grin.
"And also self-centered, cocky, and manipulative."
"But you love both of us," he said instantly, like he'd been waiting for it.
I muttered an irritated, "Whatever," and he leaned back against the headboard, satisfied that he'd won. I pushed the laptop aside, then sat facing him next to his stretched-out legs.
"Back to the topic. What's your problem with Efe?" he asked.
He looked around the room and replied like he couldn't care less. "What problem?"
"Come on, Mete. Don't play dumb. Why did you go at him like that?"
"I told the truth. If he can't handle the truth, that's not my problem."
"But you know perfectly well the ones who were wrong from the start were us. Even if we planned a stupid prank with a one-in-a-thousand chance of working just to pull Feyza back from the edge, it worked. We went on with our lives like nothing happened, and Efe is the one who ended up paying for it. He didn't deserve any of that. You owed him an apology too, but instead you tore into him and then you practically tried to break his arm. We've been friends forever, and I've never seen you that harsh and ruthless with anyone. Why Efe?"
Mete straightened up and looked me in the eye, his expression hard.
"You might look at him and see a sweet, shy, harmless guy, Duru. That's not what I see. I learned the most brutal way possible how dangerous people like him can be to everyone around them. People who can't give up their luxury standards, who don't dare step out of their family's shadow, who are too scared to make their own decisions."
I stared at him for a moment without saying anything, then sighed and spoke softly.
"Clearly you've had bad experiences with someone like that before. And even though I want to ask what happened, I'd rather you tell me when you're ready, on your own."
When he said nothing and looked away, I gave a small smile and placed my hand over his.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe Efe really is awful and dangerous."
He looked at me again, suspicious, so I continued.
"Or maybe he isn't. We can't decide who he is just because we witnessed one issue with his family. We don't know what's behind it, and judging him without the full truth is unfair. Just like us, I'm sure he's collected his share of ugly experiences from this life."
I took a deep breath and put my other hand on his arm.
"That look is familiar," he said. "We're at the part where you deliver the finishing blow, aren't we?"
I laughed and nodded. "I'm not asking you to suddenly trust him, honey. But at least you can give him a chance. Not every new person we meet has to be the reflection of the worst people from our past. Don't let your prejudice turn you into the demons you hate."
"And here we go, ladies and gentlemen, the award for the most original persuasion speech of the year goes to Duru Ulusoy."
I laughed at his dramatic, deadpan commentary and lifted my hand to mess up his hair. He grimaced, grabbed my wrist, and immediately started messing up my hair back. I was stuck between laughing and screaming while trying to shove him away.
When he finally stopped, I frowned and stuck my tongue out at him. He scooped a spoonful of ice cream and tapped it against my lips. I licked the smear off with a grin.
"Mmm. Pistachio. Love it."
He made a face, pressed a finger to my forehead, and pushed my head back. "You're disgusting, angel. Stay away from me."
I giggled and sat back down beside him. "That's nothing, dude. If you had siblings, you'd learn what disgusting actually means."
"Good point. First chance I get, I should thank my family for choosing to have one kid instead of ruining my life with a horrifying sibling like you."
Rolling my eyes, I dragged the laptop back toward my lap and muttered with smug certainty,
"By the way, I know you like Efe even if you deny it."
"Nope. That's your imagination."
"Please. I saw how you were undressing him with your eyes while pretending you were just 'insulting' him."
"Oh yeah?" he said lazily. "Hadn't noticed."
I sat back down and raised a brow at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Ugh. Fine. The kid's hot. Maybe I imagined what it would be like to kiss him once or twice. There. Happy?"
I laughed and nodded.
"Just don't end up like Sapphire."
He frowned like he wanted an explanation, so I answered with one word, grinning.
"Rüzgar."