Page 3 of Icebound Attraction

The interested party turns mischievously and looks me up and down.

“We need to change your taste in shoes,” she declares.

“It's... I...” I stammer, taken aback.

My roommate then starts laughing, approaches me and gives me a warm hug.

“Gotcha! I'm Cassy, nice to meet you!”

She lets go of me and looks questioningly at Maddie.

“Uh, this is Maddie, my best friend, she studies here too.”

Maddie also gets a hug.

Phew, I'm lucky! I immediately feel at ease in Cassy's presence. She has a pleasant charisma, a warm gaze and obviously a sharp sense of humor.

“Come in, come in, sit down! Can I offer you something to drink? Some coffee? Some tea? How was your trip? Where are you from?”

Well, she talks a little too much. I'll have to get used to it.

We chat briefly and exchange the usual information. She's originally from California, is studying fashion - which doesn't seem surprising given her pronounced taste for decoration - and is also new here at the university. Then she shows me to my personal space. It's small, but also beautifully decorated.

Maddie helps me unpack.

“How about a welcome drink downstairs at the café?” says my best friend, wagging her eyebrows.

I'm completely exhausted, but at the same time too excited to go to sleep right away, so I nod. We ask Cassy if she'd like to come with us.

“Only if you wear other shoes,” she shouts from her bed.

The three of us laugh and I grab a pair of booties.

“What do you think of these?”

Cassy's gaze shifts from the boots to me and back again. After a moment's reflection, she finally says:

“Acceptable.”

“I'm glad,” I giggle, and we set off laughing.

I don't know what I expected from a campus café, but it was clearly not this. It's reminiscent of a 1920s speakeasy1 . The decor, the atmosphere, the music - it's all there! I immediately feel at ease. It's not very crowded, probably because it's a weeknight.

No sooner are we seated at a table than a waitress is waving frantically at us. She has short blond hair, a few piercings on her face and tattooed arms.

“Maddie, what a surprise!”

My best friend greets her with a smile.

“This is Ella! Ella, this is my best friend Emily, fresh from Texas, and her roommate Cassy.”

“Delighted! The first round of welcome drinks is on the house,” says Ella. “What will it be?”

Maddie orders two freshly squeezed juices and gives Cassy a quizzical look.

She looks at us conspiratorially.

“Tonight, I'm going wild! Green tea, please.”

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