As Catherine lay on her bed, still processing her interaction with Jasper, her phone pinged again. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw Phoenix's name on the screen. The room suddenly felt too warm, too small, as if the very air was charged with electricity.

Phoenix: You alone?

Phoenix: Like is anyone with you?

The directness of his question sent a shiver down her spine. She could almost hear his voice, low and husky, as if he were whispering in her ear. Catherine took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart before responding.

Catherine: Isn't that what alone means?

She aimed for a casual tone, hoping to mask the effect he had on her even through text. Her fingers trembled slightly as she hit send.

Phoenix: Hey! She answers. At last. I knew you'd warm up to me.

Phoenix: Anyway, you alone?

His cocky response both irritated and thrilled her. She could picture his smirk, that infuriating half-smile that made her want to simultaneously slap him and kiss him senseless.

Catherine: I'm not warm and yes….

She lied, fully aware of the heat creeping up her neck and the warmth pooling in her belly at just the thought of him.

Phoenix: Okay, so when did you want to go on a date?

Phoenix: When are you free?

The question hit her like a punch to the gut. A date? With Phoenix? Her mind raced with the possibilities, even as her conscience screamed at her to put a stop to this madness.

Catherine: What?

She typed, buying time as she tried to gather her thoughts.

Phoenix: Our date

Phoenix: Don't tell me you've forgotten already.

Catherine hadn't forgotten. How could she? The memory of their kiss, of his promise to court her properly, was seared into her brain. But he was supposed to have forgotten. That had been her safety net, her excuse to brush this off as a drunken mistake. She thought to herself, panic rising in her chest.

Catherine: No, I remember. But didn't you say you forgot?

She challenged, clinging to the last shreds of her resolve.

Phoenix: Yeah, I lied.

Phoenix: So…when you free?

His admission of lying should have angered her, should have been the perfect reason to end this dangerous flirtation. Instead, Catherine felt a thrill run through her at his persistence, at the idea that he wanted her enough to lie.

Catherine: To go out with a liar?

She shot back, a weak attempt at resistance.

Phoenix: Yep.

Catherine glared at her phone, torn between exasperation and attraction. He was so extremely irritating! He was cocky, arrogant, and…a good kisser. Damn it! She wanted to toss her phone across the room and never touch it again. Never touch him again.

It was bad. Wrong. It was betraying her friend, whom she had lied to this morning, and she refused to lie to her again. She would never lie to her again. No matter how good his lips tasted or how much her body craved to feel that again—to feel him again.

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He was waiting for her to answer, she felt like she needed to respond to him. But she just had to get a grip on herself. The silence stretched between them, taut with tension.

Phoenix: Hello?

Phoenix: Catherine???

His impatience was palpable, and Catherine felt a small thrill at making him wait, at having this tiny bit of power over him.

Catherine: Hm?

She responded noncommittally, her heart pounding in her chest.

Phoenix: When we going out?

The directness of his question made her breath catch. She could almost see him, leaning against a wall, that infuriating smirk on his face as he waited for her answer.

Catherine: I don't know if we should. I agreed to that when I was drunk, Astar.

She tried to reason, more with herself than with him.

Phoenix: So?

His casual dismissal of her concerns both frustrated and excited her.

Catherine: So, I don't know if you noticed, but Molly likes you.

She threw out, a desperate attempt to create distance between them.

Phoenix: I noticed.

Phoenix: But I don't like her. Do you want me to like her?

His blunt honesty caught her off guard. Catherine felt a pang of guilt, mixed with a shameful surge of relief.

Catherine: No!

Catherine: I mean…maybe?

Catherine: Idk…I feel like a terrible friend.

She admitted, the weight of her conflicted feelings pressing down on her.

Phoenix: I like you, Catherine.

Phoenix: Go out with me, just once, and if you decide afterward you don't want to make anything of it—Fine. I'll leave you alone.

His words sent a jolt through her. The idea of him leaving her alone should have been a relief, but instead, it filled her with a sense of panic.

Catherine: You wouldn't want to be my friend?

She asked, hating how vulnerable she sounded.

Phoenix: No. I don't want to be your friend. I want to be your boyfriend.

The boldness of his statement left her breathless. Catherine stared at the screen, her mind reeling with the implications of what he was offering.

Catherine: Well, you're direct.

She managed to type, her fingers shaking slightly.

Phoenix: Yeah…most people don't like it.

There was a hint of insecurity in his response that tugged at her heart.

Catherine: It has its charms, I guess.

She conceded, a small smile playing on her lips.

Phoenix: Is that a backhanded compliment?

Catherine: Is there any other kind?

Phoenix: Are you flirting with me?

His question hung in the air, charged with possibility. Catherine felt her heart racing as she typed her response.

Catherine: Maybe….

She admitted, throwing caution to the wind.

Phoenix: Saturday, I pick you up at 8.

His assumption that she'd agreed made her both annoyed and thrilled.

Catherine: We will meet you at the park near my house.

She countered, unwilling to give him complete control.

Phoenix: It's a date x

Catherine was smiling at her phone like an absolute idiot. It was beyond her control. The more she tried not to like him, the more she found herself drawn to him. It wasn't good, and it had to stop. She needed to date guys like Jasper. Jasper was perfect. Literally, he was every woman's dream.

But here she was planning a date with Phoenix—Phoenix who was a terrible idea, Phoenix who was famous, Phoenix who her best friend liked, and Phoenix who had sold his soul to the goddamn devil. It was clearly not going to work, yet…. She had to see him. She felt like maybe if she saw him, maybe if she went on this stupid date, then maybe she'd get Phoenix Astar out of her system.

Of course, that was likely easier said than done.

Phoenix was like that song—replaying over and over, until you couldn't help but listen to it. He seemed impossible to avoid. It was like he multiplied when she wasn't looking…. Like he dug himself into her soul. Somehow. Magically so.

But one date and it would be over.

It had to be, for Molly's sake.

As Catherine set her phone down, her mind swirling with thoughts of Phoenix and the upcoming date, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was stepping onto a path from which there was no return. The excitement, the danger, the sheer magnetism of Phoenix Astar pulled at her, promising a world of passion and intensity she had never known.

Yet, as she lay in the darkness of her room, the weight of her decision pressing down on her, Catherine couldn't help but wonder: what was the cost?