When everything was arranged to her satisfaction, Kee flopped into the middle seat of a couch. She patted the seat to her right and Havil joined her. Eli moved to take the seat on her left but before he could get there, Varro slid into it.

When Kee side-eyed him, he gave her a challenging look. She retaliated with a smile full of teeth, then turned her back on him to talk to Havil. Varro’s jaw clenched.

I almost contacted Kee over the comm to tell her to stop antagonizing him, but I stopped myself at the last minute. She had the right to be upset. If he still hadn’t apologized in a few days, I would have to intervene for everyone’s sake, but for now, I’d let her handle it.

I claimed a spot on the loveseat in the back so I could keep an eye on everyone. It should not have surprised me when Torran sat down on my right—it was the best tactical position, after all—but it did.

Something in my expression must’ve given me away, because he quietly asked, “Would you prefer for me to sit elsewhere?”

I shook my head. The loveseat was small, but a half dozen centimeters still separated us. I needed to take my own advice and act like a damned adult. He didn’t need to find another seat just because I was inconveniently attracted to him.

Eli, Chira, and Anja took the last sofa and once everyone was in place, Kee turned on the screen and dimmed the lights. I slouched down in my seat then sat up with a dissatisfied noise. I needed a place to put my feet. My normal chair reclined with a built-in footrest.

A footstool was just out of reach on my left. I stretched for it without getting up, and I nearly had it when it suddenly slid back a few centimeters. It surprised me enough that I almost fell onto the floor, but a hand on my right arm steadied me.

A glance back revealed Torran wore a solemn expression of concern, but his eyes were full of laughter.

I sat back with a huff. “You move it, then,” I whispered. I lifted my legs and waited. And waited. And waited. I was just about to give up and get the damn thing myself when it silently slipped under my legs. I lowered them gingerly, aware he could move it away as easily as he’d moved it into place.

The footstool stayed put, and I slouched back down into my preferred viewing position. I was hyperaware of Torran for a few minutes until Crash Crush sucked me in. I already knew what happened in the first episode, but I still sighed in satisfaction when the male lead rescued the female lead from discovery with a smooth move that resulted in them pressed up against a wall together.