THE MORNING STAR ENTANGLEMENT (PREVIEW)

4 | Closer

It had been about a month since the semester began and since Fey started volunteering at the shelter. Although they attended the same university, she didn’t have an opportunity to see Iben on campus, so she always looked forward to the weekends. They soon settled into a routine. On Saturdays, they’d meet at the cafe, go to the shelter together, and then leave together.

Today, instead of saying their goodbyes after reaching the cafe storefront like they usually did, Iben invited Fey to lunch. She was hungry, so she agreed. They ordered their meals and sat down at a table to wait for their orders to be ready.

“I know we’ve both been busy lately, but how do you feel about having that cook-off you promised this weekend?” Iben asked out of the blue. He was smiling mischievously.

Fey raised her eyebrows in surprise. She had completely forgotten about that. Indeed, she hadn’t taken him seriously since they were just teasing each other anyway.

Fey didn’t respond right away, so he quickly added, “Unless you’re busy, of course. I know it’s short notice...”

“Name the time and place and be prepared to get crushed!” Fey returned his challenge with a smile.

Iben slowly let out the breath he was holding. He was relieved that Fey didn’t turn him down. He had gotten to know her a lot more in the past month, and they had become fast friends. He had grown to like her a lot. She was beautiful, smart, had a great sense of humor, and had an aura of quiet confidence. He felt so comfortable whenever he was with her. His gaze fell on her smiling lips. She was wearing light lip-gloss today. Like he’d been doing a lot lately, he wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Fey asked since he hadn’t responded to her.

I really can’t tell you that now, can I? Iben thought to himself. He cleared his throat self-consciously before saying, “Your place, dinner tonight, 6:00 PM. I’ll bring the ingredients. Your roommates can be the judges.”

“Deal! Let’s shake on it.”

They did, and after lunch, they both went their separate ways. 

***

“Wait, what?!” Demi exclaimed in surprise after Fey told her about Iben coming over. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me, young lady.” She pointed an accusatory finger at Fey, who simply laughed at her best friend’s dramatic response to the news that she had invited a guy over.

“What secrets? You’re acting as if I never mentioned him to you before. Or like you just found out that I have a boyfriend or something.” Fey rolled her eyes and continued tidying up the shared living space in preparation for Iben’s arrival later that evening.

Boyfriend? “You like him, don’t you?” Demi asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“We’re just friends, Demi. If I didn’t like him, we wouldn’t be friends, right?” Demi said nothing in response, so she continued, “It’s unfortunate that you won’t be here, though. He was looking forward to meeting you.”

“Well, I’m not heading out until around 8:00 PM so I can stay and chaperone you guys until then,” Demi finally said with her signature, impish smile.

Fey chuckled and said, “Yes, mother!” 

…

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