“You say some strange things, Micah.” His hand shot out and slapped against the wall beside my head, and I jumped in surprise. He didn’t try to kiss or touch me again, though. “But fuck, you’re cute.”
My cheeks burned, and I made a choked sound. I rubbed the back of my neck and slid out from between him and the wall. “I should go. Back home. I, um. I need to go.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond as I nearly ran in the direction I’d been walking, heading toward my car. By the time I reached my Kia, my heart was pounding, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the running or him. He’d turned my world upside down in a matter of an hour, and my mind was a jumbled mess. I didn’t like it one bit. I had my routine and things I knew and was an expert in, and bringing in an unknown variable was terrifying.
Yet... I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
5
YUKIO
My Earl Greylatte was surprisingly good as I sipped it. The rich taste of cardamom played with the sweetness of the syrup I’d watched Cassandra pump into the cup while she was making my drink. The late afternoon sun spilled through the scarlet oak leaves overhead as I walked along the sidewalk, replaying in my head the stolen moments kissing Micah for the twenty billionth time. He’d moved so easily under my touch and his mouth was sweet and soft. He’d sucked on my tongue with the perfect amount of needy pressure and let me slam him around, taking directions from me without a single word exchanged between us.
It had been magic so pure unicorns couldn’t create it. Genies in lamps had the low-grade shit compared to this. Nothing had prepared me for that passionate, kiss-swollen pout begging me to fuck his mouth right there.
Then he’d put on the brakes.
But that was okay. I wasn’t scared of a challenge. I had to find out how to get more of him.
“Oh no. Not this guy.” Milo shook me out of my daydream with his harsh words and a sigh.
The intoxicating replay of Micah parting those lips for me vanished in a puff of smoke, and I focused in front of us. There was a group of people heading our way from the bland two-story brick building that was our destination, probably because a class or lab had ended, and Alexander Carrington was staring me down like a psycho. He was also walking directly toward me. We were on a path to collide.
“Really? We’re playing chicken?” I snickered. “This wack job thinks he’s going to scare me with his bad Joker impression.”
Milo shook my arm. His yellow tank top was brighter than the autumn leaves and he had on a matching pair of sunglasses that were just weird. I hated looking into the lenses because they reminded me of bug eyes. “Just step aside. It isn’t worth it,” he murmured. “I can’t deal with his trash mouth today.”
“Why should I?” I grinned at Milo, then blew a kiss at Alexander, which made his face turn an ugly shade of red. “This is a free country. I can walk wherever I want to fucking walk.” I tugged on the collar of my shirt and was tempted to rip it off over my head and shove it into my back pocket.Burn In Hellwas inked from my neck down to my chest, and let me tell you, my mom had nearly murdered me when I’d come home with that one. Dad had laughed his ass off. He would approve of me holding steady in this situation. “And I was here first.”
Milo groaned and let go of me, stepping to the side, almost as if he’d decided I would lose the game of sidewalk chicken with Alexander. Maybe he thought that because our neighborhood friendly enemy was roughly the size of a moose. Well, his lack of faith pissed me off, so I wasn’t going to move over now, even if I’d maybe been in the mood to avoid crap. I popped up the lid on my latte—just a bit—with my thumb.
Then, I waited. All good plans had a sweet spot for implementation, and this one was fast approaching the critical window.
Alexander kept walking, glaring at me as he approached.
I smiled and put a jaunty bounce in my step.
“Just move,” Milo hissed. “You have nothing to prove.”
“No.” I refused to look away from Alexander. “And besides, we both know that’s not true. If I step an inch to the side, this asshole will take seven miles.”
One of the girls walking with Alexander shook his arm, waving a hand at me, and I assumed she was trying to let him know he was going to walk right into me. Her pretty face fell into a frown as he shook his head, and her skirt swished around her knees as she did the same thing Milo had done and moved out of the way.
Impact in five... four... three... two....
I pretended to trip, pivoting to Alexander’s side, and my latte impacted squarely on his chest. The splatter on his light blue T-shirt was epic. I’d somehow managed to get brown milky tea on him from his collar all the way down to his khaki pants. My cardboard cup clattered to the ground.
Alexander’s mouth fell open and he glanced up at me with something like hurt in his eyes, but that was fucking stupid because he’d started this. He shoved me, and someone nearby gasped.
“You should really watch where you’re going. You spilled my drink.” I gave him an over-the-top pout and crossed my arms. “You owe me a new one.” Alexander stepped toward me, and I raised a finger, backing up. “Hey, now. We wouldn’t want Professor Charbonneau to tell your daddy about you fighting again, would we? You don’t want to make daddykins look bad, do you?”
“You’re a fucker.” Alexander blew out a long breath, bent, and picked up my empty cup, then stalked off with it—which was weird—all while shooting me the type of glare over his shoulder that could singe the asshairs off a skunk.
I snorted.
Milo tugged me out of the way of the stream of people going the opposite direction and took off his sunglasses to stare at me. His wide brown eyes looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“What?” I rested my finger on my nose ring and wriggled it back and forth until he grinned.
