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The knock came some time after midnight, when the only sound was the rain and the occasional hiss coming from Gwen during a rough match. Bea was fast asleep, and unbothered by the computer flashing violet, blue, green, and red. When the first knock came, she assumed it was a mistake—doordash sent to the wrong dorm, or someone’s drunk situationship stumbling for pale shelter. If it was takeout, maybe she should’ve answered anyway.
Her focus started darting between her computer screen and the door as it became increasingly clear that whoever was there had the right door. A rare twist formed in Gwen’s gut, and she slowly stood up. She hadn’t been anticipating the uber-bright lights of the hallway to sting, but the sound of someone panting, and the feeling of water dripping at her feet forced her attention to the doorway. There he was, Jonathan Sato, in the soaked flesh,lit with anxiety.
“Are… you okay?”
Her monotone voice gave way to the slightest hint of worry, but perhaps it was her furrowed brow that Jonathan gave no reply at first, heaving breaths only beginning to slow. Was it sweat or rain on his forehead? His arm reached out for the door frame, and he looked up at her with some sort of pathetic, lovelorn shine. Droplets glistened on his exposed collarbone, his v-cut t-shirt doing very little to hide his figure. Water dripped down his arms, muffledly hitting the carpet. Gwen found herself staring—why did this wet dog of a man somehow get her stomach fluttering?
“Please. I’m so sorry,” His eyes glimmered with revering affection, something wistful lingering in the blue of them. “I was so stupid… the whole plan… I was so blind…”
It was fake, the whole relationship was fake, those were the terms of the deal. The hundred dollar bill was still sitting in her wallet as she stood. What was even happening right now? A rather sick dream to have—but as Jonathan’s scent lingered in her nose, Gwen could feel her mind run circles around her heart. Jonathan finally stood straight, swallowing a deep lump that blocked the words in his throat.
“Okay, let me try again.”
His posture stilled as his chest puffed with one large breath, and a deep sigh came to follow. There was a renewed fire in him, and Gwen could feel impatience begin to coil up. Truthfully, at the back of her head, she knew her teammates online were probably waiting to call her 30 different curses, but something in her gut told her to stay planted to her spot. Questions started to stockpile in her mind, but before she could ask for answers, all of Jonathan’s emotions spilled out in a frenzied confession.
“I don’t know how I never noticed you before, I don’t know…how I couldn’t see you were so beautiful.”
Dejection and shame shadowed over his face as each word emerged, but still, he kept talking.
“I’m so stupid, because I thought acting was so easy—but somehow, I stopped having to pretend.”
The air grew tight around Gwen’s lungs as she kept listening. Everything she pushed down all these months started bubbling up in her blood, and her body shivered as he kept going. Each of his confessions hit her like the cruellest hand, but the sting left behind fluttered like a kiss.
“Maybe it’s still just a deal to you, but I love you,”
That was the worst pain of them all, but “I love you” rang like the most heavenly note.
“Gweniviere Evans,” Jonathan stood tall for his final sentence, ignoring the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. “I, Jonathan Sato, am wholly in love with you, and only you.”
It all felt like a fever dream—the campus crush making a fool out of himself before her. It was oddly flattering to have someone like him whining like a kicked puppy on her doorstep. The hurt in her began to dissolve into something warm as Jonathan stepped closer, expression aglow while he anxiously awaited for a response. His cheeks, already dusted pink, flushed a deep rose as Gwen’s hand slid up his chest before clutching his shirt’s collar tightly. Her lips neared his, but she waited. She searched for a nod, or a whispered yes, or perhaps a no, but Jonathan sealed the distance, desperately seeking her kiss.
They stumbled through the doorway, clumsily heading for a wall inside the dorm obscured by darkness. Soon, the sound of rain was joined by heavy panting, and wanting sighs. The occasional soft whine would escape Jonathan, and Gwen would shush him. God forbid Naomi woke up and livestreamed the whole thing. When a quiet moan left him, Gwen pushed him away, just to see his face.
"Say it again," she murmured. "I dare you."
Under his breath, Jonathan swore this was the most divine sight. The night cloaked them in her dark shawl, and holding her like this was the finest heaven. He didn’t dare speak it—for the sacrilegious praise that threatened to fall from his tongue would make the envious God above tremble. Her beauty was the kind he observed in marble statues, but this, he could devote himself to. Her hair was soft like strands of violet silk, while her eyes shimmered like the purest cut of amethyst. His fingers traced the feel of her skin, but his touch didn’t suffice the reverence he felt.
“I swear on my life, on all I have, I love you. I’ll say it a thousand times, I’ll say it while you sleep, I’ll say it until you believe and know it, and I’ll say it every day after that.”
Gwen watched his expression, unshakably passionate, not a hint of untruth behind his tone. His eagerness earned a faint smile that only the shadows would see. She pulled him closer once again, pressing what was supposed to be a quick peck onto his lips. Jonathan was quick to melt into her touch again, threading his fingers through the scruff on the back of her neck.These kisses of fire were burning through his restraint, and their flames almost drowned out the sound of Beatrice stirring from her sleep?
“Gwen? What’s going on?”
Bea’s voice rang in the air, freezing the atmosphere. A shiver crawled up Gwen’s spine when the words registered. Jonathan remained perfectly still in his spot, trying not to puke as Beatrice blearily tried staring into the darkness. Thankfully, the moonlight didn’t reach him, and his figure remained hidden. The damp mood helped Gwen regain her composure, and she cleared her throat to talk.
“It’s nothing, I thought I heard someone knocking.”
Bea hummed in reply, turning the other way in her covers, letting slumber claim her again. Jonathan scurried to the doorway again, the atmosphere feeling too hostile to stay in place. After she was sure that Bea was at least partially asleep, Gwen joined him. The hall lights strained her sight, but Jonathan could see her tousled hair, and the soft swell of her lips. Her hand grazed over a tickled spot on her neck, where a bite mark was starting to bruise. A strange sense of accomplishment overcame Jonathan upon seeing it. The air thinned into something awkward between them, and he murmured in a tone only audible to himself and her.
“Thank you… for everything. I’ll see you…”
Jonathan’s gaze shifted from the floor to Gwen’s face, searching for any sign of regret or perhaps disgust. He found her familiar unaffected expression.
“Tomorrow.”
Gwen filled in his silence.
“Tomorrow.”
With that, his joy was reborn. His heart took off at morrow’s promise, a bright grin on his face as he smiled “good night” to Gwen. The door closed with a soft thud, and just like that, he set course for his dorm. He practically pranced through the rain, calling out hallelujah as the moon witnessed his lone celebration.