[color=#b97703]“Careful there. You’re turning into one of those guys that parents warn their kids about when they go to college,”[/color] Caspian warned Miles with a slight smile, trying not to dwell on his uncertainties. [color=#b97703]“Offering everyone drugs like some kind of sleazy dealer.”[/color] On the inside he hadn’t moved on from the negative feelings he had toward Miles and Iris at the moment, but he had to try harder to hide it. He didn’t want the former to pick up on the fact that his frustration was, in fact, directed at them. That meant putting on a mask of positivity until after they ate lunch, when he could think up an excuse to leave.

Luckily, Iris seemed to understand his silent pleas though. When she got up from the sofa, relief trickled through the prince from his head to his feet. Whether she had moved on or not, he was glad that she seemed to have stopped flirting with his friend while they were all in the same room together. That was really what had been getting under his skin since he’d arrived. Watching the two tease each other and laugh just like he used to behave with her when they had been getting to know each other when they’d first met was difficult. As selfish as it was, he preferred that they maintain a distance, so he could pretend like there wasn’t an obvious spark between them.

He glanced up at her as she stood behind his chair and leaned over him, his heart betraying him by skipping a beat in response to her proximity. Though he felt slighted by the way she had buddied up with Miles, he couldn’t help that he was still hopelessly smitten with her. It also didn’t help that her red dress was just low-cut enough to make him squirm when she bent forward to look at the screen of his phone. A ruddy blush crossed his cheeks, and he swallowed reflexively, forcing himself to look away again as he returned his gaze to the same device.

[color=#b97703]“Y-Yeah, there is,”[/color] he replied to her question, cursing himself silently for stammering when he felt her hand on his shoulder. In a few quick motions, he pulled up the tab for the delivery tracker to show that their food had just left the restaurant. [color=#b97703]“Looks like it’ll be here in about fifteen minutes too.”[/color] Clinging to his composure by a thread, he wondered what Iris was doing by sidling over to his side of the room. He had been fairly certain that she had been flirting with Miles just a few minutes ago. Was she trying to keep doors open with both of them? He felt a little hurt by the thought, but at the same time, another part of him was encouraged to know that she hadn’t brushed him off completely. Maybe he still had a chance to fight for her. He just wished he wasn’t handicapped by the reality that he had to keep his interest in her a secret from Miles.

“Thank god,” his friend sighed dramatically, tossing his other arm over the back of the sofa and kicking his feet up on the coffee table lazily. “I’m starving.”

[color=#b97703]“Me too,”[/color] Cas agreed with a nod.

In the next moment, the doorbell echoed through the house, and Miles jumped to his feet. “I bet that’s Jay. That moocher is never late when we offer food. I’ll go get him.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and trotted out the door to greet the missing member of their group.