RED NOTES AND KISSES-Chapter 57: FRIDA -

"All right, kids, I’ll see you during Christmas." Laurel grinned, pressing warm kisses to each of their foreheads.

Not that any of them could refuse her kisses. Evelyn was more reserved, offering them light pats on the shoulder, but Laurel?

She was generous with her affection, planting kisses even as Mike and Leon cringed, wiping at their foreheads with exaggerated groans.

Laurel enveloped Frida in a tight hug, squeezing her as if she were trying to memorize the shape of her body. "Oh, baby, don’t lose more weight, okay? Eat more, go out more, have fun!"

"She has exams," Evelyn cut in, arching a brow.

Laurel shot her a glare. "She’s top of her class. She can handle it. Read, sleep, kiss Laz, eat."

Frida’s jaw dropped. Blood rushed to her cheeks so fast she felt lightheaded.

She whipped her head toward Laz, praying he hadn’t heard, but he was busy loading their luggage into the car, his headphones plugged in.

She exhaled sharply, pressing her palms to her burning face. "Laurel!"

Laurel giggled, utterly unbothered, while Ted sent her a hard glare. "My daughter is not kissing any boys."

This was getting humiliating. Frida winced, stealing another glance at Laz over her shoulder.

He was still working, fingers deft as he secured the suitcases in place. Please, please let him be too preoccupied to notice.

"Can you all stop?" Frida whisper-shouted, her voice high and mortified, as her mother pulled her into another embrace.

"What? Don’t act like you don’t want to," Evelyn teased, squeezing her tight.

Frida gasped, scandalized. "Mom!"

Evelyn chuckled as Ted joined the hug, wrapping his arms around them both. "Take care, kid. I’ll try to make time to come see you at school."

Frida sighed. It was an empty promise, one she’d long since stopped expecting her mother to keep. "It’s okay, Mom. The hospital’s important. You and Dad are busy."

Ted pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Not too busy for you. We’ll come over next weekend."

"Dad," she said softly, her heart aching at the rare tenderness in his voice.

"You’re my only child. You’re important to us. We can’t be too busy." He pinched her cheek playfully before stepping back.

Laurel gave her shoulder one final squeeze. "Don’t study too hard. And even if you do, use my son as stress relief."

Frida groaned, rolling her eyes even as a grin tugged at her lips. "Gosh, Laurel."

---

The flight back to New York was a blur of exhaustion. Frida had barely slept the night before, pouring over her notes in preparation for exams. The moment she settled into her seat, she felt the weight of sleep pull at her eyelids.

But the jet was freezing. She curled into herself, shivering slightly, before something warm draped over her shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open just in time to see Laz’s jacket settling around her.

His scent, clean, woodsy, and uniquely him, wrapped around her like a cocoon.

Her gaze flickered to him. He was focused on his laptop, his fingers gliding over the keys, the glow from the screen casting soft green reflections on his glasses.

His dark hair fell in tousled waves over his forehead, framing his sharp, defined features.

The thick curve of his brows, the impossibly long lashes that cast shadows on his cheeks, the straight slope of his nose, and his lips...

God, his lips.

So full, so pink, almost red. He lifted his iced black coffee to his mouth, sipping from the straw, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion.

"...perfect," she thought, completely entranced.

And then he did it...his tongue flicked out, running over his lower lip in a slow, unconscious movement.

His lashes lifted, revealing striking dark gray eyes, a stark contrast to the softness of his other features.

Frida swallowed hard and quickly yanked his jacket up over her nose, praying he hadn’t noticed the heat creeping up her neck.

A low chuckle rumbled from him.

Oh, he noticed.

---

She spent the entire flight asleep after that, only waking when they landed.

The moment the Uber pulled up in front of her school, reality came crashing back.

The dorm was quiet, a little deserted since students were still trickling back to campus.

It would take about a week before the place was bustling again, and she was at least a week early.

Perfect. This gave her time to settle in, study ahead, and breathe before the chaos of the semester fully kicked in.

She groaned, already dreading the disastrous state of her dorm, as the Uber pulled up to the curb.

Laz moved effortlessly, retrieving her box from the trunk, his muscles flexing beneath the sleeves of his hoodie.

He barely ever stayed in the boys’ dorm, always busy with racing, and yet here he was, still with her.

A stupid thought whispered in the back of her mind, had he followed her just to stay close?

She was hyper-aware of him as he hauled her suitcase out of the trunk.

That alone made her delusional heart flutter with warmth.

"Thanks," she murmured, her voice soft, almost shy, as she avoided his gaze.

Just as he set her luggage down, a voice called out behind her.

"Frida?"

She turned at the familiar sound, her brows knitting together in surprise.

"Alex?" Her feet moved before she could think, closing the distance between them.

She turned, blinking at the figure stepping toward her. Tall, effortlessly handsome, with deep brown skin that glowed under the streetlights—Alex.

Alex was tall, taller than she remembered, and effortlessly striking. He was half the medical department’s dream guy, with the kind of looks that belonged in glossy magazines.

His chiseled jaw, smooth dark skin, and deep-set honey-brown eyes held an effortless allure, the kind that made people stop and stare.

He had the charm of someone who knew exactly how attractive he was, and he wore it like a second skin.

"Alex?" she said, surprise laced in her voice.

A slow smile curved his lips as he stepped forward and then without warning, he did something completely unexpected.

He pulled her into a hug.

Frida stiffened, momentarily caught off guard. His arms wrapped around her in a way that was both familiar and foreign, lingering just long enough to make her question it.

"Frida, it’s so nice to see you," he said, his voice smooth like honey, yet his eyes held something else...something unreadable.

She stepped back, an uneasy feeling settling in her gut, but before she could say anything, she turned slightly...

Meeting Laz’s gaze and immediately regretted it.

His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his stance relaxed, but his expression? It was anything but.

His jaw had locked, his brows slightly furrowed, and his stormy gray eyes were darkened with something dangerous.

Unamused. Silent. Watching.

Laz stood there, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.

His dark gaze flickered between her and Alex, and something in his stance shifted.

Tension crackled in the air, thick and unspoken.

Alex made it worse.

"Who is he?" he asked, his brows lifting as he glanced at Laz.

Frida swallowed. Hard.

Oh. Shit.