bed chem | drew starkey

CHAPTER 7

OCTOBER 2023

It had been a couple of weeks since Aurora had started spending time with Devin. She had to admit, his presence made things a little easier. Between work commitments, coffee dates, and stolen moments of laughter, she felt like she was finally finding her balance again.

Aurora yawned, pulling her pink silk robe tighter around her shoulders. "Why are you so chipper this early?"

"Because I made waffles. And because someone has a photoshoot today and should probably look alive for it."

Aurora rolled her eyes but smiled. "Thanks, mom."

Mia smirked, clearly pleased with herself, and set a plate of waffles in front of Aurora.

"so..." Mia started, clearly trying to sound casual, but Aurora could tell she was setting something up. "how are things with mr.nba player?"

Aurora paused, glancing up from her phone. Her face softened, and she leaned back slightly. "good. he's sweet. and... normal. it's a nice change." She took a small bite of her waffle.

"normal is boring," Mia teased, poking at her own waffles. "a little bit of you know what never hurt anyone."

Aurora laughed, shaking her head. "trust me, boring is exactly what i need right now."

Mia just smiled, clearly satisfied with that answer. But after a moment, she leaned back in her chair, her eyes glinting with something mischievous. "I'm just saying... I'm happy for you and devin. Really. But I'm still Team durora."

Aurora froze mid-bite. She looked up from her plate, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Team what?"

Mia's expression didn't change, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. "durora," she said, as though it were a perfectly normal name. "That's the ship name for you and drew."

Aurora blinked, her confusion deepening. "durora? you... you made that up?"

Mia shrugged nonchalantly, clearly pleased with her own sense of humor. "I mean, it's obvious. you and drew have had that spark thingy since forever. I'm just saying."

Aurora shook her head, feeling a slight blush creep onto her cheeks. "Mia, you're ridiculous. He's my bestfriend."

But Mia just grinned, the kind of grin that said she knew exactly what she was talking about. "Hey, I'm just speaking the truth. You can't deny the chemistry between you two."

Aurora exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know, Mia. Drew and I... we're just friends. I don't want to make things awkward, you know?"

Mia gave her a pointed look, her voice softening. "You can't just push it away forever. Not when it's so obvious." She paused for a beat, her smile turning playful. "But hey, no rush. Just know that I'm Team Durora. Forever."

Aurora rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the small smile tugging at her lips. "Whatever, Mia. You're a mess."

Mia just winked, clearly enjoying the teasing, and grabbed her phone. "We'll see, Rory. We'll see."

And for the first time in a while, Aurora felt the weight of her feelings about Drew shift just a little—like maybe, just maybe, Mia was onto something. But for now, she focused on the present. She was with Devin, and that was enough.

At least for today.

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After the photoshoot, aurora came home and took a nice hot steamy shower. And now she sat on her couch, still in her robe, scrolling through her phone when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up, a little confused but not entirely surprised.