ᴛᴀɪɴᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ

ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

"Hey, you," I heard a voice call out.

I turned around, meeting the gaze of a tall figure. "Wassup, Trey?" I asked, a playful smile tugging at my lips.

"You free later?" he asked, his eyes flicking over me.

"Depends," I replied with a grin, leaning back slightly, curious to see where this conversation would go.

"On what?" Trey asked, licking his bottom lip.

"Depends on how I'm feeling," I said, my tone teasing.

"Aii bet," he replied, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"Don't you have class right now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Trey took a step back, hands casually resting in his pants pockets. "Not for two more hours, you?"

"Same," I replied.

"So, do you wanna go somewhere?" he asked.

I hesitated, glancing around, feeling a small flutter of uncertainty. "Uh..." I rubbed the back of my neck before checking my watch.

"I won't hurt you if that's what you're scared of," he chuckled. "Come on, I'm just taking you somewhere to eat. We are friends now, aren't we? We should get to know each other more. You hungry?"

"Touché," I replied, smiling. "Where are we going?"

"Subway?" Trey asked. "Craving a sub sandwich right now."

"Okay, let's go," I said, relenting.

"So wait, you mean to tell me you like Kit Kat over Snickers?" Trey asked, incredulous.

"Yes, look, okay, Kit Kat is better than Snickers," I replied, shrugging. "Maybe it's 'cause I don't like peanuts."

Trey stared at me, amused. "Alright, what's your favorite food?"

As he took a bite of his sandwich, a bit of mayo left on his lip caught my attention. Without thinking, I reached over and wiped it away. Our eyes met, and I froze, feeling my heart skip.

"Sorry," I muttered, my face flushed.

"S'cool," Trey said, smiling warmly. "Your favorite food?"

"Seafood," I replied, taking a bite of my sandwich.

"No way, bruh," Trey said, eyes lighting up. "Almost all my friends hate seafood, it's my favorite too."

"A man of the culture, I see," I teased, taking a sip from my drink.

"We should go to Red Lobster together," Trey said, leaning back in his chair.

"Okay," I nodded, intrigued.

"So, you live on campus?" he asked casually.

"Nope," I replied.

"Awh, so I won't see you as much?"

"Seems not," I said, taking another sip from my drink.

Just then, my phone rang. Seeing Aunt's name on the screen, I excused myself. "Sorry, I gotta take this," I said, getting up.

Trey nodded, sipping his drink as I answered.

"Hey, Auntie," I said, walking a little away from the table.

"Yeah, I have one more class. I still need help moving stuff," I told her.

"Okay, I'll see you later. Love you," I said, hanging up the phone.

"Well, we gotta go now, it's almost time for our lecture," I said, checking the time and standing up to dispose of my tray.

In the parking lot, as we walked to class, I noticed people glancing at us. I rolled my eyes, irritated by their stares.