Chapter 17: Exam Week
FALL TERM - November 3rd
I told Aisling about going out to the statuary with Aries and she had a different read on the situation.
I hadn't meant to be talking at all. We were in the library, studying for exams. I had a practice astrological chart rolled out on the table in front of me and was supposed to be determining what kind of person this belonged to. A dull one, I'd decided.
Aisling was flipping through a botany textbook, also bored. I don't know what really prompted me to tell her about it, but I did anyway.
"So, Aries took you on a date," she said, a little too loud considering we were in a library.
I hushed her. Luckily no heads had turned. "No, of course not. It wasn't like that. This was just Aries being Aries."
"You're not this dense, Zeph." Aisling slapped my hand. "You know how much he likes you. To lead him on is just cruel." It suddenly hit me just why my voice of reason sounded like Aisling. This tiny furious woman against all odds was telling me what I already knew, but didn't care to look at.
"We're friends," I said. It seemed a bad time to bring up that I sometimes slept with people I considered friends at the Stag's Court. But this wasn't the Stag's Court. As to whether or not I would've slept with Aries... well, it wasn't worth really giving it much thought. Things were different there. Friends from back home knew from the start it was never serious.
Aisling's glare sharpened. She wasn't going to drop this so easily.
"I'm not looking for a relationship. I told you that already," I said.
"Well, obviously I know that, but does he? Did you tell him?"