Ciro P.O.V
It was already Saturday, and I was making my way toward the address Kenan sent me. It wasn't too far from campus, only an hour away. After being dropped off about ten minutes from his place, I started walking the rest of the way. We had agreed to meet up at his place in the afternoon.
I messaged him that I was here and told him to come down and get me. I know myself ,I'd easily get lost. I have a poor sense of direction.
He said he'd take a few minutes, so I waited patiently. I'd only been here once before, for the party last week. I didn't think I'd be returning this soon.
While I waited, I pulled up a recipe for risotto. I wasn't about to recreate the kitchen disaster from last time. There were no second or third chances.
Kenan came down wearing casual home clothes and led me inside. As usual, I was overdressed.
The moment I stepped in, I was caught off guard by the thick wave of his pheromones,deeper now, sharper, clearly more dominant than before. It clung to the air like heat after a storm, warm and heady, with a pull that settled low in my stomach. I blinked, trying to adjust as it wrapped around me, coating my skin, seeping into my lungs with every breath.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I already had my scent blockers on, but it wasn't hard to notice.Kenan was dominant, and his presence filled the space.
Years ago, an omega walking into an alpha's apartment like this wouldn't have expected to walk back out freely. But with new medicine, everything was possible. I could live a normal life as long as I took my doses.
I glanced around, curious.
"I thought Polo would be here too," I said. "Where is he?"
Kenan answered without looking up. "He's with my uncle on campus."
I blinked. "Your uncle?"
I mean, of course he had a family, but the way he said it so casually like that was supposed to explain everything.
"The dean" Kenan casually.
Though it was a rumour and it turned out to be true.
I stared. "Oh... so that's what you meant by 'exceptions.'"
He shrugged as he closed the door behind me.
Already knowing where the kitchen was, I came with only my phone. I slipped off my shoes and walked straight in, needing to focus on something else while Kenan stayed behind to lock the door.
To my surprise, all the ingredients were already laid out on the countertops.
I filled a pan with water and set it to boil.
Kenan finally made it to the kitchen, hands stuffed in his pockets like he had all the time in the world.
"You're early," he said, eyeing the pan like it personally offended him. "You boiled water without me?"
"Didn't think I needed a PhD in Waterology to handle it."
He gave me a look. "Bold of you to assume I wasn't planning to handle the water."
I rolled my eyes and started chopping the mushrooms. The knife wasn't the sharpest, but I made it work.
Meanwhile, Kenan was squinting at the recipe on his phone, holding it up like it was written in Latin.
"Wait. What does sauté even mean?"
You could tell this privileged man hadn't stepped into a kitchen since birth.
"Kenan," I said slowly, "please tell me you're joking."
"I thought it meant boil... no?"
I stopped chopping. "Why would they have two words for the same thing?"
"I don't know."
"How do you survive alone?" I asked.
"I eat out most of the time."
Made sense.
He reached for the butter and dropped it almost instantly.I stared at him in surprise. I am horrible in the kitchen too but not this bad.
"It slipped, okay?"
"You good?"
"I'm fine."
That should've been my cue that things were about to descend into chaos.
We fumbled through the rest like we were in a low-budget cooking show. He accidentally doubled the garlic, spilled some rice, and I may or may not have turned the heat up too high and nearly set the onions on fire.
"Do you smell smoke?" I asked.
"Do you smell failure?" he countered, flapping a towel toward the stove like that would do anything.
At one point, he tried to take a candid photo for the assignment, but the flash went off and caught me mid–eye twitch while stirring the risotto with a broken wooden spoon.
I am not photogenic. And it shows.
"I'm submitting this one," he said proudly. "It's giving... raw authenticity."
"It's giving failure."
Finally, we reached the last step just to add the broth slowly and be patient.
I decided I'd be the one stirring. I somehow didn't trust Kenan, even though I wasn't great myself.
"Okay, Kenan, pour it in while I stir."
The video said it would take almost fifteen minutes.
Despite the disaster, we somehow made something that looked edible. The kitchen was wrecked. My shirt smells like garlic. Kenan had a sauce stain on his chin he didn't notice.
That was my sign to take a photo and somehow, he still looked good. Scoffing, I shut off my phone.
I looked at the plate of food on the dining table. "I wonder if it's edible?" I asked Kenan.
"I mean, it should be. Unless you secretly added poison."
I rolled my eyes.
I grabbed two spoons from the drawer. From the chaos that lasted almost two hours, it was clear I now knew where everything was in his kitchen.
I handed him one and kept one for myself. We dug in. I put the food in my mouth and immediately wanted it out.
I chugged a glass of water. "That was the most revolting taste ever."
Kenan gave a muffled "yes" as he bent over the sink, trying to wash the taste off his tongue like it had personally offended him.
It was time to clean up after ourselves. We stood for a second, staring at the mountain of dirty dishes, utensils, and mystery splatters covering almost every inch of counter space.
"Should we just... move out and start over somewhere else?" I joked.
Kenan tossed me a sponge. "Tempting. But I think we can survive this."
We started cleaning in rhythm. He washed while I dried, and for once, the chaos calmed. The sink filled with warm water and suds, and the steam from the stove had finally faded—replaced by the quiet clink of dishes and the occasional laugh when we found another ridiculous mess.
My feet were killing me. After standing so long in the kitchen, they were practically crying out for mercy. I collapsed onto the couch and pulled out my phone to wind down. That was exhausting. I don't know how my father liked doing this.
Kenan flopped down next to me, closer than I expected. His shoulder brushed mine for a second before he shifted and gave me a bit of space.
But not much.
He stared ahead, silent for a moment. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."
I mentally agreed, but I didn't even have the energy to say it.
"I'm gonna order takeout. Do you want anything specific?"
Not being picky, I said, "I'll have what you have."
"So if I order a rat, you'll eat it?"
I nodded without thinking, still scrolling—until I processed what he said and heard him burst out laughing.
I grabbed a cushion and chucked it at him without looking. He caught it one-handed.
"If that's the case, I'd have to condemn you for cannibalism."
"So give me a proper answer," Kenan said, tossing the cushion back gently.
I finally looked up at him. Our eyes met, and he was still smiling, but his expression had softened. Warm. Amused.
Scoffing, I said, "Order pizza or something."
"So basic," he sighed.
I nudged his leg with mine. "So why ask?"
He didn't move away. "It's good to give your guest options."
Our knees were touching now. Neither of us said anything about it. I could feel the warmth of him right there, solid and unbothered—like this closeness wasn't strange at all.
And maybe it wasn't.
Soon after, the pizza arrived, and I dove in like I hadn't eaten since breakfast—which was true. Kenan joined me, and for a while, we just ate in silence, shoulder to shoulder, like we did this all the time.
I don't know how I ended up on the floor, but I did. I was spread out, holding my belly, stuffed, and barely able to keep my eyes open.
"Get up. You only ate three slices," he said.
I tried to lift my head to look at him but gave up. "That's all it took to send me into a coma."
Still lying there, I pulled out my phone and checked the time. It was half past seven and starting to get late. If I didn't want to be locked out of my dorm, I needed to be back by 8:40. So I had a good amount of time left.I forced myself off the floor, groaning. Kenan grabbed my arm and helped pull me up without a word.
"I'll walk you downstairs," he offered, already grabbing his keys.
We made our way to the door, slower than necessary.
When I reached back it was already late and I needed my bed asap. I went into my dorm room and Jacob was up and he had a face mask on. He was chewing on grapes with a book in his hand. When he heard the door click he looked up.
"You look like a train wreck."
"Really?" I said coming closer to my bed to sit down for a while before I could relax, Jacob annoyingly added.
" I know you not sitting on the bed without bathing and your smelling like that "
Offended "Smell like what?"
"Like Kenan his pheromones is practically sticked to u and it affecting me to you know"
Surprised by her revelation I started to smell myself and I didn't smell anything."I don't smell anything at all"
"Someone would think you gone nose blind"
nose blind ?
"I doubt I did I smelled it early on when I went to his apartment"
"You went to his apartment?" Jacob said amuse Sitting up suddenly interested.
Taken back " Yeah for the assignment"
"Y'all cooked ? Lucian and I microwaved a ready to go meal'
So there was a easier way out
"But what your saying is nothing happen between you guys"
What does he take me for?
"Of course nothing happen I can't even stomach his face I could manage doing something else"
Jacob sighing and laying back down on the bed before briefly muttering "Such a Virgin"
I showered quickly, letting the warm water beat against my neck and shoulders longer than I should've, hoping it'd rinse away the lingering scent or at least the feeling of it. It didn't.
Back in bed, the room was dark except for the glow of Jacob's fairy lights. He was already snoring, face mask crusted over and book still open on his chest.
I lay there staring at the ceiling, blanket pulled up to my chin. But the moment I closed my eyes, it was like I was back in Kenan's apartment.
That scent.
Thick, heavy, and laced with something sharp that made my stomach curl in a way I didn't want to name. Even now, hours later, it clung to the inside of my nose. Warm. Familiar in a way that shouldn't be.
I shifted onto my side, pressing my face into my pillow.
It was just biology. Just instincts. Just pheromones.
But my fingers tightened in the sheets anyway.