Skinship

It's been already five minutes, and the stares have turned even more and more intense. The cafeteria was packed, and every table had been taken. Something that usually never happens, as there are many other places to eat than there.

Murmurs went by, small chit-chat and peering eyes, all directed to the couple in front of her.

Cassidy pinned her eyes to the table and sipped from her juice box.

"Well, it sure is awkward as hell."

Kyle skimmed the place, crossing gazes with at least five different pair of eyes over them. He laughed, as if the whole thing was a bunch of fun.

"We're used to getting attention, but man, this is way more than usual."

Allen shifted on his chair, setting his eyes on what Isabelle was doing, curious. "Just ignore them, they'll come to terms with it, want it or not."

The comment made Cassidy chuckle. They were not official, were they? She wanted to keep it quiet, but her honest self just said the words before she could even think them through.

"What's funny is that you're not even dating."

That tiny sentence dragged Allen's cold stare towards her, something that made her more awkward than she thought it would. It was definitely true: Allen was scary.

Allen was one of those people you don't mess around with not because he's done something, but because you fear he might. All rumor-based speculations.

When Cassidy thought she couldn't get any more nervous, she felt Kyle sliding his arm over her shoulder, dragging her close.

"Relax, Al." Kyle said, tugging her playfully. "Besides, it's not like she's wrong."

To everyone's surprise, Allen didn't reply anything back. All he did, was drag his attention back to Isabelle, practically ignoring what they just said. Something that Cassidy was low-key glad about.

Her mind, though, had started to divert from reality; too conscious of how his arm was still holding her. She didn't dare move even a little, as every place his body pressed against hers, she could feel a weird tingle mocking her better judgement.

Isabelle's words made her turn back to reality.

"It makes me nervous, but what can I do?" Isabelle smiled softly, slowly turning it into a grin as she set her eyes on the two souls sitting in front of her. "You guys should worry more about yourselves."

Cassidy's mouth half opened, a hot wave washing over her face. Kyle, on the other hand, cleared his throat, retrieving his arms with an awkward expression in his face.

He folded his arms over his chest and snorted.

There were no hidden intention when he hugged her. He just wanted to lighten the mood, and yet, they seemed like they had something going on between them. The thought crossed his mind, then, as of how they looked together.

Cassidy and Kyle's face must have been out of this world as Allen, the ice-cold hottie himself, chuckled.

That embarrassment was not something Cassidy would let slide though, rushing her to speak up.

"That's—" She stopped right there when she realized she didn't have anything better to say. Cassidy bit his lower lip.

And, when everyone thought things couldn't get any more awkward, Allen and Isabelle engaged in a series of rather affectionate interactions.

Cassidy could tell they were doing it on purpose, as she could see how the murmurs started to pick up again.

Of course, it was impossible to ignore them completely; making Cassidy wish she could just gauge her eyes out.

This scene, though, was something Kyle have been waiting on for a long time. Being friends with Allen have been rather disappointing on the love scenario. So this was something he had to save for future references; taking his phone out to record the whole thing.

He even cared to think about the title he would use for this masterpiece: "How to tame a man in less than 10 minutes."

Kyle laughed internally, noticing how Cassidy was as immobile as the chair she was sitting on. He found it cute, though, her futile attempt to become invisible.

When things had started to turn a little too cringy, Kyle spoke up again.

"You can't complain about people talking stuff behind your backs when you act like that, you know?" He said, putting his phone down. "You guys look like a proper couple."

He had the almost non-existent advantage that he was Allen's best friend. This said, he was practically the only one crazy enough to just speak his mind in front of him without giving a damn.

That didn't mean Allen wouldn't kick his ass, but Kyle has managed to get his way around him without getting murdered. And this was one of those chances.

Besides, he was Team Iry. Making Allen think about dating her officially seemed like a good idea.

Cassidy released the juice box from its duties, wondering why the hell he kept bringing the topic up.

Allen shrugged, his smile practically carved in his face by now. "Can you shut up, for once? That I'm not as fast as you in these things doesn't mean I don't get shit done."

Kyle opened his mouth to retort, but Cassidy, who suddenly felt triggered, spoke before he could say a word. "So he's fast on these kinds of things? Like what, dating or screwing around?"

Her rather sarcastic side flourished, the double sense reply catching Allen's attention.

"Well, since I'm not screwing around, you can guess what I'm talking about. If you call what he does 'dating', of course." Allen answered back.

Cassidy breathed the answer in. He either is smooth with his words, or he's being serious, she thought. Her thoughts quickly left in second place the moment Kyle finally spoke up.

"What the fuck does that mean?" He asked, offended.

"Your longest relationship has been literally two weeks." Allen's casual words pissed him off.

"So you're a heartbreaker." Isabelle said, a shy smile on her face.

For a reason, this time the joke was not feeling as funny as he was used to.

"No, Iry, I'm not." As unusual as it was, Kyle's expression turned serious. Just as when Cassidy and him talked about this same thing before.

It was her wonder if, perhaps, this was a serious topic for him.

Kyle made sure to look at the three of them dead in their eyes, one by one, before continuing.

"I try it seriously, but after a week or two it just doesn't feel right."

Still, and even though she could see it bothered him, Cassidy couldn't fully believe in that. She crossed her arms. "But you have to sleep with them before realizing that, right?"

"That's part of the deal, sunshine. If sex doesn't feel right with that person, then it's not the one." Kyle winked, going to his usual, flirt self.

Cassidy rolled her eyes.

"You can find good sex anywhere, handsome, but not someone you genuinely enjoy spending time with." She retorted, her dark brown eyes landing on Kyle's. "You can learn about each other's preferences along the way."

Her words, obviously experienced on the topic, left Kyle of words.

For some reason, the word "sex" coming out of her lips sounded more like a foreigner word. The idea of her having any kind of experience in that matter completely out of his reach.

So he kept looking at her, as if what she just said had unleashed a wild wave of unnecessary thoughts that invaded his mind. Yes, unnecessary thoughts, he thought as he tried to avoid thinking about any explicit imaginary scenarios.