We’d just dropped Alia off, when we stepped into the main hallway of the hospital.
And then....the atmosphere shifted.
The automatic doors slid open.
And in walked the boys who made the world stop and stare.
Dominic. Ian. Casper. Jasper. Ren.
Except Liam....of course. Who was the reason they were here.
But the rest?
They stepped in wearing sleeveless gym tops and shorts clinging in all the right places. Their skin glistened from sweat, and yet they still slled so good.
They had water bottles in hand. Phones in the other. Earbuds on their ears. They looked like they’d just co from a private gym designed for royalty.
Soone gasped behind us. A nurse nearly dropped her clipboard.
Whispers broke out across the hallway.
Every step they took echoed.
Every person turned.
Patients. Visitors.
"Is that the Glass Circle?"
"Oh my god, the tall one is even hotter in person..."
"Soone hold ..."
A male doctor literally backed into a supply cart.
Even the nurses weren’t pretending not to look.
Mouths dropped. Eyes widened.
June leaned closer, clutching her jacket like she was holding onto reality.
"Slls like testosterone in here," she whispered.
Phones were being slyly pulled out. A little girl dropped her lollipop. A guy waiting on a wheelchair literally turned his head.
June kept staring like she’d been hypnotized.
"How do they all look that good at the sa ti?"
Marcus scoffed beside us, and crossed his arma.
"I don’t get what everyone sees in them," he muttered, clearly annoyed.
I couldn’t speak.
Because Dom had spotted . Looking like he had just walked out of my dreams.
He was wearing a fitted black sleeveless shirt that exposed the veins in his arms, a black short and a white face cap. His silver chain sparkled under the light.
He definitely doesn’t skip leg day.
He looked straight at .
And smiled.
The smile was... soft.
Like a spark he ant only for .
They were headed straight toward us.
I was frozen.
Jasper nodded to the crowd politely and even blew a kiss to one of the nurses. Ian smirked. Ren didn’t even pretend not to stare at June. Casper looked bored...but that was his version of charm.
We passed each other right at the glass entrance.
Dominic was last.
And when he walked past , our arms brushed...
Our hands touched.
Just skin.
Just a mont.
But it felt like sothing snapped through .
His fingers brushed the back of mine, like he wanted to hold it but changed his mind. My breath caught. I could feel the warmth of him even as he walked past.
I didn’t turn around.
Neither did he.
His fingers were warm.
I tried to act normal...like I didn’t want to grab that arm and let him pin to the wall and kiss breathless.
The doors slid shut behind them.
June practically squealed beside . "They sll so good....oh my God." She held her chest like she’d just been resuscitated. " Did you see how Ren stared at ."
Marcus hissed through his teeth and marched off like he was ready to throw his shoe.
"Let’s go, guys," he groaned.
But I didn’t move.
I just stood there....frozen, staring at the doors Dominic and his friends had just walked through.
My palm still tingled.
Like it rembered how his hands brushed mine.
I blinked, trying to breathe like a normal human being. But my heart kept sprinting.
And the worst part?
I was smiling.
Like a lovesick patient in need of emotional CPR in front of the hospital.
Then...
Suddenly, soone grabbed my hand.
"Oh my God, Ash."
June grabbed my hand as she dragged toward the curb.
"Why wrong with your face? You zoned out! Like...pletely gone. Are you...are you blushing?"
I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words ca out weird.
"You’re blushing," she gasped. "You’re BLUSHING, Ash!"
"June," I groaned, yanking my hand back.
My voice cracked.
She froze mid-step and spun around dramatically.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Do you have a crush on one of them?"
She raised a hand.
"If you say it’s Ren, I swear I will run you over with a bus. A big one. With no brakes."
I tried to laugh.
"I’m not kidding!" she shrieked. "I saw the way you looked when Ren passed. Don’t lie! His body is illegal!"
I finally burst out laughing. "Please. If anyone’s getting arrested for thirst, it’s you....for the way you moaned when Ian licked his lips."
June turned bright red. "Eww, shut up! First of all, Ian’s not even my type..."
"You moaned juney."
She smacked my arm. "Shut up! Ugh! I rembered sothing, bla my ovaries. If it’s not Ren, then who?"
Her eyes narrowed again.
"Dominic? Ian? Casper?"
I gave her the flattest look I could manage.
"Girl, if I ever catch feelings for any of those gym-addicted jerks from school, please run over the bus or throw into a volcano. Voluntarily. I do not have the ntal capacity to be one of those girls crying over their six-packs and smirks."
She burst into laughter so loud we jogged toward the curb. I threw up a hand to flag the cab while watching Marcus march ahead like he had no interest in the conversation.
"Okay, fine. But if you do fall for soone eventually, just don’t let it be Ren. That’s all I’m saying."
I opened the cab door with a dramatic sigh.
"Ren looks like he eats girls like you for breakfast. I like my n a little less ’Greek god,’ and a little more ’emotionally available.’"
She snorted as we both slid in the back seat. "So basically... no one from that group."
"Exactly," I said, pulling the door shut behind .
But as the cab rolled away, I found myself smiling.
Then June let out a dramatic sigh. "Did you guys see how Ren smiled when he saw ? My ovaries just filed for marriage."
"June!" Marcus yelled from the front.
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
Because that stupid, traitorous hand?
Still felt like it had touched him.
Wait.
Hold up.
I blinked.
How did june know I was gay?
Like....how?
She said it with that knowing smirk, that tone that people use when they know your secret.
How did she actually know?
I never told her. I an, yeah, I wear a little lip gloss sotis, and I’ve definitely stolen her glitter eyeshadow once (or twice), I was only experinting. But that could an anything.
Right?
Was I giving off gay vibes?
Was it the way I said "excuse" that one ti when I tripped over a cat?
The way I talk? My walk?
Was I obvious?
No, like actually.
Obvious.
Omg, did everyone know I’m gay?
I an, yeah...sotis I check out guys. Quietly.
And okay...sotis I imagine them shirtless. Very quietly.
But I didn’t think I was broadcasting it.
I stared at her, then turned to the window.
How long has she known?
Did I accidentally out myself by smiling at Dominic’s annoying pretty lips??
I wasn’t even sure I was gay. Not in a way I could explain. I hadn’t said it. Not to myself. Not out loud.
But June looked at like she’d known for a while.
And the scary part?
I didn’t know if that made want to cry...
Or hug her.
God, was I really that easy to read?
I squinted.
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