Kashi tilted her head slightly, a teasing smile playing at her lips. "What about you? I've noticed you and Alex. You never seem to get enough of that brat," she said lightly.
Zarri froze mid-plotting, her cheeks flushing instantly. She tossed her hair back as if the movement alone could erase the reaction. "Pfft... Alex? That cocky brat?" she scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Please, mi encanto, I eat men like him for breakfast."
But the corner of her mouth betrayed her, twitching upward into the smallest, guilty smile.
"Okay… maybe lunch, too," she muttered under her breath before snatching a cushion and hurling it at Kashi. "Don't look at me like that! He's infuriating. Arrogant. Loud. Doesn't know when to shut up. And yet…" Her voice trailed off, grin widening despite herself. "…God help me, he's fun."
She rolled onto her stomach on the bed, kicking her legs like a teenager caught in her first crush, then buried her face into a pillow with a dramatic groan. "Ugh, you're evil for noticing."
Kashi laughed as zarri popped back up, pointing a finger accusingly at her. "But don't you dare turn this around on me, Kashi Saints. You've got your own demon to deal with. Mine at least comes with jokes. Yours comes with power plays and piercing eyes that could melt glaciers."
Kashi's brows wiggled mischievously. "So… shall we both give in to our bad habits?"
The room filled with the warmth of shared secrets and dangerous possibilities, two women standing at the edge of something neither of them was quite ready to admit out loud.