She narrows her eyes, as in,you can’t be serious, pushing from the wall. “Oh, I don’t know, Roman. Maybe because every time we’ve been in a room alone together lately, all my professionalism and decorum seem to fly out the fucking window. Maybe because I wrongly attacked the character of a student I’m supposed to be helping. Maybe because I got drunk at the bar that said undergrad works at, maybe because Ipassedouton said undergrad. You pick,” she says, chest heaving. “The list is endless.”
He works his tongue against his cheek as his hands rise, then fall back to his sides.
“I’m not … a bad guy, Jahlani,” he says slowly.
Her head rears back. “I know that.”
“Do you?” he says, his tone incredulous. “Do you actually believe that?” He steps forward, closing the space between them, shaking his head.
“The fact that you think I would—” He blows out an exasperated breath. “Why are you so hellbent on making me into some villain?”
“I’m not,” she says.I don’t mean to.“I’m not,” she says again, quite pathetically.
Roman sighs, looking toward the ceiling, his Adam’s apple working through a swallow before looking at her.
“I’m not a bad guy,” he repeats, his eyebrows pinched together.
“I know,” she says, stepping back. “I should go. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“No,” he says, grabbing her bag strap and tugging her forward.
“No?” she repeats, ignoring the tingles through her arm.
“You have yet to hear my side, and I just … just don’t leave. I meant what I said. Give me a chance to explain.”
She scratches her eyebrow, looking toward the exit. “I … don’t think that’s a good idea.”
His jaw clenches. “Why?”
“Roman,” she says, like a parent scolding their child. “Come on. Every time we’re in a room together, it’s …” She trails off, shaking her head again.
His eyebrows raise.
Confusing.
Unnerving.
She licks her lips, painfully aware of how his eyes track the motion.
“Too much,” she settles on.
His eyes shift over her, seemingly determined. “You asked me what I wanted. This is what I want.” Checking his watch, he looks back at her. “I have to get back, but I’ll be an hour max.”
Spinning on his heel, he disappears behind a set of double doors. Tilting her head up, she lets out a groan before moving into the restroom. Setting her bag on the counter, she drags both hands down her face before turning the tap on. Letting the water run for a minute, she places her hands under it before pressing them to her face.
“Fuck,” she says, slamming the tap off and staring at her reflection. She knew coming here was a bad decision. Now she feels compelled to stay when all she wants to do is go to the house and crawl into her bed for the rest of the weekend.
But as she pushes open the door, granting her access back to the lounge, she finds herself walking toward a booth in the back corner before sinking into the cushioned seat. She pulls a book and her reading glasses from her bag before settling in, her body fully aware that she’s being watched.
She only makes it through one chapter when a drink lands on her table.
“Oh, I didn’t?—”
The girl, Ashlynn, sends her a sheepish smile. “He said you need to drink something,” she says, before moving away.
Jahlani flips her book over, her gaze sliding to him across the way. He immediately meets her eyes and makes a subtle drinking motion and her lips part in disbelief when he resumes serving the woman in front of him. She deliberately pushes the glass to the opposite end, picking her book back up.
This time she only makes it into two pages before she closes it. Leaning back, she looks around the room before landing on him.
