“I’m sorry… about your parents,” I offer awkwardly.
“Don’t talk about my parents.”
“My parents died together, too.” Why am I telling her this? “They were in an attack at a New Year’s Eve party. My mom died that night and my father held on for a little while… I think someone told him mom was gone, and then he was, too.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, still hiccupping sobs. “That’s horrible.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle humorlessly. “Finally, something we can both relate to.”
That, and the fact that neither one of us has a home to go back to…
We sit together in the gym, the last rays of the sun disappearing over the cliffs. When it’s too dark to see, I stand with a groan, feeling a vicious twinge from my cock, which is still holding a grudge about that punch. Holding my hand out, I wait for her to take it. She eyes my outstretched fingers suspiciously for a moment before accepting my help getting up.
“Sorry about punching you there…” she says, gesturing awkwardly at my crotch.
“No, you’re not,” I’m laughing, even though my dick doesn’t think it’s even remotely amusing.
Trying to hide her smile, she shrugs.
“We have another ten days before Professor Zimmerman evaluates your fighting skills,” I said. “I’ll reserve one of the gyms for longer sessions, they’re usually not in demand later in the evening.”
The hope on her face unnerves me, like she really thinks I’m someone she can count on. “Oh?”
“There’s some tricks I haven’t shown you yet,” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s not about who’s the biggest in a fight, it’s about who’s the smartest. We’ll start again tomorrow, all right?”
Nodding, she smiles cautiously. Her eyes are red and her cheeks are wet, but she still has a smile for me. “Okay. That’s really… thank you.”
“C’mon,” I said, “I’ll walk you back to your place.”
Chapter Seven
In which Tatiana learns that guns are helpful but never there when you really need one.
Tatiana…
There are ten different buildings within the Academy’s high stone walls, a few smaller outbuildings, and a lovely, huge greenhouse where a lot of the food served in the dining room comes from. Then, there’s the lighthouse. It’s right on the tip of the grounds jutting forward on a jagged outcropping of rock, and while it once guided sailors safely home, it’s primarily used as a seedy spot to get high and have sex. Maybe I’m too conservative, but having sex on a grimy stone floor in a rickety structure seems extremely non-erotic.
I’m heading to the Digital Arts building, which is the closest to the lighthouse, making it somewhat secluded. It’s five minutes before my Dark Web lecture and Mateo and his three little chuckle buddies step out from behind a shed.
“Where’s Toscano?” Mateo says with a smirk that seems permanently affixed to his face, “Doesn’t he usually have his mouth buried in your pussy?”
Sure enough, his posse of scumbags starts chortling on cue.
“Get out of my way,” I sigh, trying to walk around him.
Grabbing my arm, he leans in, “Why don’t we spend some quality time together? I think we had a bad start. Thatputtana,that bitch Athena tried to poison you against me.”
Granted, Athena doesn’t seem to like me any more than when I moved in with her, but it didn’t even take her warning to let me know what a pig Mateo is. Still, he’s oddly popular with the girls here, so I have no idea why he’s bothering me.
“Yeah, calling my roommate a bitch really shows the respect you have for women,” I said, yanking my arm away. When his eyes narrow to dark slits, I try to soften my comment. “I hear you’ve got a dozen of my fellow classmates begging for your time, so I’ll let you go-”
“Letmego?” he said incredulously, “I don’t think you know how things work here,puttana,”
“I’m going to be late for class,” I said wearily. “I get it. You’re in charge. You’re the top dog. Have I covered it?” He’s still blocking the path and his creepy buddies have formed a half-circle behind me.
“Not until you give me a kiss with that pretty pink mouth of yours,” he goads me. “Kiss me sweet and I’ll let you go.”
Lev always reminded me to find at least two or three ways out of anywhere I happened to be. The exterior stone wall of the Academy blocks me on one side, and there’s a little grove of trees on the other.
