Page 71 of Captured Love

Wilder shrugs, but I can see the wheels turning in his head. “Sure, why not?” He walks over to the stove and scoops himself a big portion into a bowl.

As Wilder takes a seat at the table, I notice the tension in Knox's posture. This was supposed to be our time, but now we have an audience. Maybe that's for the best, I think. It gives me a little more time to process everything without the immediate pressure of Knox's attention solely on me.

“So,” Wilder says, blowing on his soup. “What's the occasion? You two celebrating something?”

“Selene wants to cook more, and we have a kitchen that we barely use,” Knox says smoothly. “We are just catching up.”

“Just catching up,” Wilder repeats and I can tell he doesn’t believe Knox. He takes a large, deliberate spoonful of soup and chews slowly. “This is really good,” he says, directing the compliment at me. “You should cook for us more often.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I say.

“Yeah, Selene, this is delicious, but I didn’t expect anything less.”

Knox’s compliment makes me smile and I try to hide it by taking another spoonful of the soup. It doesn’t work.

“You know, Selene, if you’re going to start cooking for the team, we should set up a schedule. Maybe a weekly thing?”

Wilder’s joke doesn’t land like he thought it would because Knox is quick to respond. “Leave her alone,” he says low enough that it almost sounds like a growl.

Wilder raises an eyebrow and lets out a low whistle. “Well, don’t let me get in the way of your dinner.” He shovels a bit more soup into his mouth and stands up. “Thanks for the soup, Selene. I’ll take this to my room.”

With that, he leaves Knox and I alone, and I’m left looking at Knox like he’s grown another head. “What was that all about? Wilder was obviously joking.”

Knox studies his soup for a moment. “I know he was joking. Sometimes he doesn’t know when to stop. I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything that you might not want to do.”

I open my mouth to argue, but close it just as quickly. I can see how that can become a problem and I’m not going to lie to myself and say I didn’t enjoy that he defended me.

In fact, I more than enjoyed it. I loved it.

26

SELENE

Iflip another page of my textbook, the same book I’m supposed to be using to help me study for an exam in a couple of days. I’m convinced that the words are blurring together versus it being a result of my exhaustion. Normally, being up late for my shift at the library is easy peasy, but tonight I’m struggling.

As I fight the urge to yawn, my mind keeps drifting back to Knox's invitation from several days ago. I’m still trying to figure out why he thought it was a good idea to invite me to his grandmother's birthday celebration. Things have been great, but still, it caught me off guard.

This feels like a massive step and while I want to go, I’m left wondering what the hell all of this means. Are things moving too fast between the two of us?

Maybe? Probably? Yolo?

As I debate what all of this might mean, I turn the page again and I notice a folded note. I stare at it for few seconds because I’m confused by what I’m looking at. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve found little notes or mementos in my college books, but it’s also super random.

I unfold the note and immediately recognize the handwriting. It’s because I have another letter with similar penmanship. However, this note is much more uplifting than the one I received previously.

Just thinking about you and wanted to leave you a little something. You’re going to kick that exam’s ass.

Yours

-K

A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I reread Knox's words, It's such a simple gesture, but his reassurance feels like a warm hug on a cold winter night.

It's strange how a few scribbled lines can shift my entire mood. The stress of this exam, my exhaustion, the confusion over our relationship fades for a moment. For these precious few moments, they don’t matter. His words have managed to muffle all of the other noise in my brain, giving me a chance to just exist.

I fold the note carefully and tuck it into my wallet for safe keeping. I try to remove the tiredness from my body by standing up and stretching. It helps somewhat, but I could still fall asleep at this desk with no problem.

When I sit back down at the circulation desk, I pull out my phone to send Knox a quick text message.

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