She had gotten home with that almost stupid, floating feeling still sitting warm in her chest. The walk back from campus replayed itself over and over: Xavier's laugh, the way he angled his body closer every time she spoke, the warmth in his eyes that didn't feel casual anymore.
She sat on her bed for almost ten minutes, hugging her pillow like someone who wanted to smile but refused to admit why.
Then her door burst open.
"Elianaaa!" Joy's voice filled the room before her body did. "Get up. Wear something fine. We're going out."
Eliana blinked. "We are?"
"Yes." Joy threw herself onto the bed dramatically. "The boys from Economics are hosting a night party. Big one. Everyone will be there. If we don't go, I'll cry."
Eliana laughed despite herself. "I'm tired."
"No you're not." Joy sat up and studied her face. "You're glowing."
Eliana stilled. "…No I'm not."
"Oh you are." Joy narrowed her eyes. "Who did you see today?"
"No one."
"Eliana."
"Eliana."
"Elianaaaaa."
Eliana groaned and fell back.
"Okay, fine. Xavier."
Joy's eyes widened like someone who just heard a royal secret.
"The Xavier? As in— campus sin temptation himself?"
Eliana covered her face. "Stop."
Joy grinned. "Oh, we are absolutely going to that party."
The party house was already alive by the time they got there.
Music pulsed through the walls, the kind that vibrates in your ribs. People were everywhere — dancing, laughing, drinking, shouting over the speakers. Bodies moved like the night was something to be swallowed whole.
Joy disappeared almost immediately—she always had three people calling her name at any event.
Eliana stood near the doorway at first, letting her eyes adjust. Her heart beat faster than the music. It was loud, chaotic, warm. She was about to turn back when—
"Hey."
His voice didn't have to be loud. Somehow, she heard it clearly.
Xavier was leaning by the hallway entrance, drink in hand, shoulders relaxed, eyes on her like he had been waiting.
Her breath paused for just one second.
"You came," he said, and he didn't smile, but his eyes did.
"You're everywhere," Eliana replied, finding her voice because she had to.
"Well," he pushed off the wall and came closer, "maybe I was looking for you."
He said it casually. Like it was the simplest truth.
Her heart didn't get the memo about staying calm.
Someone dragged Xavier into a circle of guys shouting over a card game. He went—he was that type, pulled everywhere—but he didn't move far from her. Every few minutes, his eyes came back. Like checking if she was still there.
Eliana found herself leaning on the kitchen counter, watching the room, when a hand brushed her wrist. Not grabbing. Just touching. Warm.
"You're too far," Xavier said quietly.
She didn't realize he had crossed the room until he was close enough that her back touched the counter and his arm rested beside her, caging her in without touching anything but air.
The music was loud. But they were in their own silent part of it.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied, though her pulse was a hammer.
"You look like you're thinking too much."
"I think that's just my face," she joked softly.
He leaned closer, enough that the side of his knee brushed her hip.
Very slight.
Very deliberate.
"That's not a bad thing," Xavier murmured. "Makes me want to know what you think about."
Eliana couldn't hold his gaze.
But she didn't step back.
His hand lifted slowly, like he was giving her time to move—
and touched her jaw.
Just his fingers resting, warm and steady.
Not a grab.
Not a claim.
Just contact.
Her breath stilled.
His thumb grazed her cheekbone, once.
Soft.
Slow.
Like he was memorizing her.
Eliana swallowed, her voice barely there.
"You—touch people like that often?"
"No." His voice had dropped lower. "Just you."
Something deep inside her fluttered — not nervous, just aware.
Someone bumped into them and the moment broke, but not completely. Xavier leaned back a step, but his hand slid down her arm as he moved, fingers trailing her skin.
It was the smallest thing.
But it felt like he had just whispered something directly into her bones.
"Come dance with me," he said.
Not a question.
Eliana hesitated, but her feet moved anyway.
The music wrapped around them.
People danced in circles and shadows and laughing energy, but the space where Xavier and Eliana stood felt slow, quiet—just the two of them.
His hands didn't grab her waist immediately.
He let his fingers hover near her hips like he was asking without words.
She took one small step closer.
That was all the answer he needed.
Warm hands settled at her waist—firm but gentle.
Not claiming.
Just holding.
Her breath caught.
The world blurred.
The song slowed.
Their bodies moved in a rhythm she didn't need to think about.
He bent his head, lips near her ear—not touching, just close enough to feel.
"Eliana," he said.
And somehow, her name had never sounded like a name before.
It sounded like something dangerous.
Something wanted.