“Ladies, do you have something to share with the class?” Sutton’s voice booms from the bottom of the auditorium, echoing against the rafters.
He’s staring straight at us, an apricot poised between two fingers. His hair is less messy than it was this morning, and he’s changed out of the jacket and dark jeans he had on when I saw him at the observatory, having swapped for another earth-toned sweater and brown slacks instead.
My pulse thumps heavily in my throat. “Um, no.”
“No, Professor,” Meg agrees.
His jaw works from side to side until finally he walks to the edge of the stage, taking a seat on the lip. He swings his legs, studying us. “I suppose this is the usual time in the semester when I have to remind students that if you’re going to be late, I’d rather you take a seat in the back and be as silent as possible. Tardiness doesn’t look good, but it’s especially egregious when it becomes a distraction for the entire class. I expect you’ll be on time from now on.”
The rest of the students murmur their agreement, and I sink lower in my seat as flames lick up and down my skin. God, howembarrassing?—
“Ms. Anderson,” he says, and when I lift my gaze, he’s glaring at me. “Is that understood?”
No chance in pretending the message was for anyone else. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
The fire burns even brighter, knotting together with this strange feeling in my stomach, like it’s turning in on itself.
He’s doing it again.Calling me out in front of everyone in a way that makes it feel like he’s putting distance between us. Humiliating me so no one could possibly think there’s something deeper going on, a desire he can’t bring himself to indulge.
I grit my teeth, wishing I could smack the smug expression off his face, but instead I sit up a little straighter and let my knees fall open.
I’m wearing stockings, but they’re only thigh-highs.
And because I was too busy to do laundry last night, nothing else above.
Shifting in my seat, I flip the hair off my shoulder and give him a salacious grin. “Yes, Professor,sir.”
His eyes dip for the briefest second—almost too quickly to notice, really, except that I’m waiting for it. Dying for his reaction while hoping no one else is paying attention.
When his throat bobs, satisfaction weaves through my rib cage like moss on the forest floor.
He turns his head immediately, and I cross my legs as heat pumps between them.
“All right,” he continues, the slightest notch of unease in his voice, “today, we’ll be discussing the importance of making strong choices. Acting is more than the simple ability to memorize words. A script doesn’t paint the entire picture, right? It’s up to you to read between the lines and bring that character to life, which means what?”
He points at Percy, who scratches behind his ear with a broken pencil. “You’re gonna make us write another essay?”
Sutton smirks. “Indeed, I am. But does anyone know why I have you write so many essays?”
“Because you don’t have anything better to do on the weekends than grade papers?” Meg suggests.
“That sounded like you volunteering to assist on next week’s assignment, Ms. Valdez,” Sutton tells her. “And no, actually, my dance card is quite full. The essays are my attempts at understanding where you’re at comprehensively and how to move forward in a way that you get the most out of any partsyou’re given this semester. Remember, it isn’t all about acting here.”
He meets my gaze for a moment before turning to drag himself onstage and head for the chalkboard. The rest of the class, I’m practically shunned, even when I raise my hand to participate.
Oh well. If he’s making it his mission to embarrass me in front of my peers, the least I can do is have fun with it.
13
SUTTON
A Death’sTeeth fledgling slides their hand up my calf as if inspecting me for injury. At least that’s what it feels like tonight as debauchery descends on the party in Tartarus, one of the deeper caves within the mountains.
These are the easiest functions to dissociate from: It’s neither a full moon festival nor the beginning of a new period, so death isn’t lurking around the corner trying to decide which nonranking individual it should claim.
It’s just dark, the vast cavern illuminated by lanterns and punctuated by whatever makeshift furniture the Director has managed to smuggle in over the years. Tonight will be filled with copious amounts of sex aimed at appeasing the god our organization bows to.
