“He?” I latched onto the only piece of identifying information, but the youngster just shrugged.
“Not for sure,” he admitted. “I didn’t catch sight of any bits or anything, I’m just assuming.”
“Anyone have anything else to offer?”
A disgruntled murmur rolled through the office as the group agreed that no one had anything to add.
“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “You’re all dismissed but keep an eye out for this cat and try to make contact, if possible. It could just be a local having a little fun or it could be something more serious.” I turned to Kade as the security forces filed out. “Can you have Jeremy check the logs and see if any of our students might have slipped out to make a little mischief?”
“Yeah, of course,” Kade agreed. “Although, the description doesn’t really ring a bell for any of the shifters we have enrolled.”
I agreed but, honestly, didn’t have any better idea who it could have been. Unless…
“Drey said we were expecting company later today,” I said quietly. “You think it could be one of his?”
Kade’s brows narrowed thoughtfully. “Could be,” he mused. “One got ahead of the group and decided to get busy?”
I shrugged. “No crazier than any other options, is it?”
Kade gave a shrug of his own. “Guess we’ll know soon enough.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think I might just head up to the rendezvous point a little early, maybe take Julian with me.”
Kade snorted. “Gonna pack a picnic and make a date of it?”
“Aren’t you the one always nagging me to take more time for my personal life?” I flipped Kade the bird with a grin. “Mind your own business.”
And, yeah, that was pretty much exactly what I was planning, assuming that Jules was feeling up to a little road trip.
By the time that Jules poked his head into my open office door an hour later, I already had a soft-sided cooler packed to the brim and a plaid blanket waiting next to my desk.
“Busy?”
“Never too busy for you,” I said, popping my brows into an over-the-top leer that made Jules snort.
“Oh, Chuck,” he said, shaking his head, “I don’t even have the words to tell you just how serious of a boner killer that expression is.”
Smirking, I winked and then nodded toward the pile on the floor. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I wasn’t trying to get you into bed, isn’t it?”
Jules looked from me to the cooler and back. “What’s all that?”
“That, my dear music teacher, is a picnic,” I announced with a grin. “I have to go for a drive and I was hoping I could talk you into joining me.”
Jules’s lips twitched up into a smile. “Absolutely!” he said quickly. “When are we leaving?”
“Any time you’re ready,” I responded, pushing my chair back to reveal my jeans and sneakers.
Jules’s smile widened as he took in my casual attire and then glanced down at his own jeans and looked back to me. “Now?”
“Now,” I agreed, shoving my cell phone in my back pocket. I grabbed the cooler in one hand and reached for Jules with the other. “When it comes to getting some alone time with you, there is definitely no time like the present!”
Julian
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked, smiling to myself as I watched the lush green scenery rolling by.
We’d already been driving for over an hour, making small talk with Chuck holding my hand on the seat between us but he still hadn’t told me what prompted our outing.
“Are you getting hungry?” Chuck sidestepped my question with one of his own.
