Talon laughs, full-bodied and unbothered. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”
I shoot a glance toward Jasper, silently apologizing for the circus. He just taps his pen against the desk once and signs,“Ignore him. He thrives on chaos.”
Talon catches the movement. “Oh. You know ASL? I mean… I guess it makes sense considering Jassy-poo doesn’t really talk. That’s hot.”
“Wow,” I deadpan. “New low.”
“You wound me,” he says, placing a dramatic hand over his heart.
“Not yet, but I’m considering it.”
He smirks again. And then, mercifully, he stands, dragging the chair back with an obnoxious screech.
“You’re feisty when you’re trying not to be into someone.”
“I’m not into you.”
“Sure you’re not.” He winks before turning his attention over to Jasper. “We were curious who you were going to have tutor you. I volunteered, you know.”
I snort. “You’re a communications major. What the hell do you know?”
Jasper signs,“Leave it. Both of you.”
But Talon just grins wider, clearly ignoring the warning. “Anyway, I didn’t drop in to ruin your little study date?—”
“It’s not a date,” I interject swiftly, probably a little too loudly. I immediately regret the intensity of that denial when I see Talon’sgrin widen and Jasper’s eyebrow quirk upward. Great. Now I sound super defensive.
Talon steps back, tossing his hands up. “All right, all right. I’ll leave you two nerds to your hydrocarbons. Don’t let me interrupt true love or whatever.”
He’s halfway turned before he adds, “Dredyn’s gonna lose his shit.”
I stiffen. “Why would he care?”
Talon shrugs one shoulder. “He just doesn’t like sharing.”
I gape at him. “I’m not his. I don’t even know him.”
He hums noncommittally, already walking off, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. “Tell that to him.”
And then he’s gone.
Silence stretches between Jasper and me.
I press my hands flat to the table to ground myself. “And they’re your best friends?”
He nods, signing,“He’s always like that.”
I give him a weak smile. “It’s so fucking irritating”
There’s a pause. Then Jasper signs,“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I murmur, “I’m good.”
He watches me a moment longer, then gestures back to the notes.“We can stop if you want.”
But I shake my head, reaching for my pen. “No. I want to keep going.”
Jasper gives a small nod, tapping the next problem on the worksheet. I slide it toward me and lean over the paper.
