Sloane’s POV
Xavier: Hey, there’s a new movie out. Want to catch it? Our first official date.
Still in the student lounge, I stare at my phone, rereading the message until the words blur. My chest tightens with a strange mixture of excitement and fear, because I don't know what to do with the possibility that he actually means it.
We've gone out before. We've spent so much time together- watched movies- sort of- and he's been there for me when I needed him. So this should be no different, right?
‘Except it is.’
Zia’s giddy words set my heart racing. This is an official date.
No, I remind myself, it's all an act.
I swallow hard.
I know how to survive being lied to. I've already done that. I know how to tell myself not to expect too much, not to trust too quickly, not to mistake kind
