Chapter 45: Divided Focus

The door to Leo’s studio apartment clicked shut, locking out the cool evening air. Nicole stood just inside the small entryway, her fingers tightly clutching the straps of her navy bag as her violet eyes nervously scanned the room. It was her very first time stepping into his personal space, and the sheer intimacy of it made her heart hammer wildly against her ribs.

Leo dropped his keys onto the counter, turning around with a relaxed smile. "Make yourself at home, Nicky. You can sit on the small couch over there. Do you want anything to drink before we start?"

"N-No, I'm completely fine!" Nicole blurted out, her face instantly turning a light shade of pink as she walked over and sat stiffly on the cushions, keeping her knees pressed together.

"Alright," Leo said, unbuttoning his outer jacket. "Let me take a quick shower to clear my head, and then we'll dive straight into the economics textbook."

The moment the bathroom door closed and the sound of running water filled the apartment, Nicole’s stiff posture instantly vanished. She let out a long, breathless sigh, standing up from the couch to explore. She walked on tip-toes, taking a quick peek toward the bathroom door to make sure Leo wouldn't pop out unexpectedly. Seeing that the steam was thick, she spun around and let her gaze lock onto his bed.

Unable to resist the urge, she scrambled over and threw herself flat across his mattress. An absolute wave of flustered excitement took over her entire body. She rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face deep into his pillows and inhaling his deep, familiar scent. Oh my god, it smells exactly like him, she thought, her legs kicking the air in absolute, private shyness.

Click.

The bathroom door swung open. Leo stepped out into the room, steam swirling around his broad shoulders. He was dressed in a comfortable pair of casual sweatpants and a loose grey tee, his damp chocolate-brown hair slightly messy. He stopped in his tracks, looking directly at the sight of his childhood friend rolling around across his sheets.

Leo scoffed softly, his lips parting into a thoroughly amused, teasing smirk. "Enjoying the mattress, Nicky?"

Nicole bolted upright as if she had just been hit by a shockwave. Her face violently painted itself in a blush. She scrambled off the bed, running back to the couch and plumping down with a fierce, frustrated pout. "I-I was just testing the quality of your mattress! It's way too soft, you dummy!"

Leo let out a quiet chuckle. He walked over smoothly, stepping deep into her personal space and sitting right beside her on the small couch. Moving with effortless warmth, he slid his long arm around her waist, pulling her voluptuous hourglass frame straight into a tight embrace. "Is that so? You look incredibly cute when you lie like that, you know."

Nicole’s defenses completely melted. Instead of pushing him away, she leaned her head sideways, burying her face deep against his broad chest as her small hands tightly clutched his shirt. She looked up, her violet eyes soft and full of genuine affection. "Leo... I had a really amazing time last night at my house," she whispered sweetly.

She leaned upward, closing the tiny distance between them to press her lips firmly against his. Leo returned the embrace with an intense, possessive warmth. Their lips moved together in a deep, lingering French kiss, their tongues tangling with a heavy, passionate friction that sent a wave of heat straight through the quiet room.

After a long, breathless minute, Leo was the one to gently break the kiss, his thumbs softly caressing her blushing cheek. He offered a small, grounded smile. "Alright, let's stop there for now. We genuinely need to do this revision session, or you're going to flunk Thursday's test."

Nicole’s eyes went wide, her shyness rushing right back as she flusteredly looked away from his gaze. She cleared her throat, pulling out her heavy economics folders and spreading them across the low table to mask her red face.

The study session began, but it quickly became clear that Nicole was barely reading a single sentence. Her large violet eyes spent far more time tracking Leo's sharp jawline and deep voice than looking at the paper layout. Every few minutes, she would deliberately point at a completely simple graph, asking a random question just to draw his tall body closer to her side. Leo tracked her motives perfectly, a relaxed, knowing smile playing on his lips the entire time as he patiently explained the terms.

.....

Meanwhile, across the city campus, the atmosphere inside the university’s evening review class was heavy with exhaustion.

Professor Genevieve stood at the front of the chalkboard, her mature, hourglass silhouette moving elegantly as she wrote down extensive history notes for the midterm exam. Down in the front row, both Chloe and Stella were writing furiously inside their notebooks. Despite their initial complaints, both girls were studying with absolute, unyielding focus, driven by the singular goal of passing their tests so they could spend every single hour of their free time clinging to Leo after Thursday.

The heavy wooden classroom door swung open with a loud creak.

Another female professor stepped inside the quiet room, holding a stack of attendance sheets. She was tall, with sharp features and a sophisticated style.

Stella casually glanced up from her notebook to look at the new faculty arrival. But the exact microsecond her emerald eyes locked onto Professor Julia's face, an absolute, freezing wave of terror violently gripped her entire body. Her skin went completely pale, her fingers locking rigid around her pen as cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Professor Julia didn't say a word. She simply stood by the doorway, her lips parting into a cold, completely knowing smile directed straight at Stella.

Professor Genevieve turned around from the chalkboard, adjusting her glasses as she addressed the rowdy room. "Attention, everyone. I have to attend a mandatory faculty board meeting for the next hour. For the remainder of the evening review session, Professor Julia will be taking over the session to supervise your test preparation."

Chloe let out a tired groan, burying her face in her arms, completely missing the look of sheer, breathless panic freezing Stella's entire posture right beside her.

....

By the time the clock on Leo's wall read nearly 7:00 PM, the study date had officially come to an end.

Nicole stood up from the couch, packing her economics books securely into her bag. She walked over to the apartment exit door, her short chestnut-golden bangs framing a soft, beautifully sweet smile as she looked back at him. "Thank you for the help today, Leo. I... I guess you're not completely useless after all."

Leo offered an effortless, warm grin, leaning his broad shoulders against the wall. "Get home safely, Nicky. See you tomorrow."

"F-Fine! See you tomorrow, dummy!" Nicole squeaked out flusteredly, her cheeks carrying a light pink blush as she stepped out into the exterior corridor, closing the door softly behind her.

.....

A short while later, the evening review sessions had officially dismissed. Chloe and Stella were walking side-by-side down the dark, quiet pedestrian sidewalk leading away from the faculty buildings. The avenue was lit by the faint amber glow of the campus streetlamps.

Chloe crossed her arms, a smug, mocking smirk playing on her lips as she glanced sideways at the silver-haired girl. "Hey, Stella. You were awfully quiet during the second half of the review sessions. Did Professor Genevieve's history terms finally break your annoying little brain cells?"

Stella didn't whimper. She didn't let out a loud, dramatic protest, and she didn't try to mock her back. She kept walking straight ahead, her emerald eyes wide, completely blank, and staring into the empty space. Her face was thoroughly pale, her mind completely lost in a dark, terrified spiral as she tightly clutched her lecture folders against her chest, entirely ignoring Chloe's voice.