“But that doesn’t seem fair,” I say, frowning.
Liam glances sideways at me, tapping a rhythm on the desk with his knuckles. “It doesn’t come naturally, you know.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What doesn’t?”
“Kai’s always ahead. But he works hard. He works harder than anyone I’ve ever met.”
I blink, unsure what to say. It’s not what I expected. Not from him.
“He gets free passes, sure,” Liam adds, shrugging. “But it’s not for no reason.”
I shift in my seat, surprised at his sincerity. Then lean back in my seat and say, “I never thought it came naturally. Nothing like that ever does.”
Liam watches me for a few seconds, something thoughtful flickering across his face. But before he can speak again, I beat him to it.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “For the meal card.”
His gaze snaps back to mine.
“I mean it,” I add. “It… it means more to me than you’ll probably ever know.”
He tilts his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Any time.”
I look down, unsure what else to say, but then he adds, “We could all use a little help sometimes.”
“Is that why you helped me?”
“Perhaps.” He smirks. “If you’ve got anyotherquestions, you can ask me,” he offers, leaning back in his chair again. The way he manages to flick between different emotions scares me a little bit.
“Why would you do that?” My tone is sceptical, my brow arched.
The grin widens. “Maybe I’m just super,supernice,” he says, his voice heavy with sarcasm, but there’s a flicker of something sincere beneath it.
Maybe? Probably?
Doubtful.
“So, about those questions—”
“Only if you tell me something too,” he cuts in, his sly grin intact.
“That wasn’t part of the—”
“Deal?” he interrupts with mock innocence. “We didn’t make one, remember?”
I glare at him, mostly because he’s right. “Fine,” I grumble.
“Is Kai with Paris right now?”
For a split second, surprise flashes in his eyes. Then he nods. “Yeah.”
I knew it. The person he was on the phone with was Paris. “P” was Paris. Maybe Ishouldbe a detective.
But before I can probe further, he quickly silences me with a raised finger. “A question for a question. My turn.”
I sigh. “Go ahead.”
“How’d you get into this school?”
