“Yeah, man, thanks,” Henry said, sliding into a seat across the table. “I’m Henry.”
“And I’m Rusty,” Rusty said, taking the empty seat next to Henry while I sat my tray down in front of the vacant spot next to Shannon.
“And you already know me,” I quipped. Shannon gave me a weak smile in response, but I noticed his eyes roved round the room nervously.
“I understand you had the misfortune to meet my asshole cousin,” Henry said.
“Huh?” Shannon asked, his gaze now flicking towards Henry, a look of incomprehension on his face.
“My cousin, Roy. I think you’ve met him? Which is something I’d not wish on my worst enemy, I might add,” Henry replied.
The color drained from Shannon’s face. “He’s your cousin?”
“Unfortunately, yes. He’s an asshat of the first order. I told my dad he was harassing other students here, making threats of violence. He’s been a problem child his entire life, so my father was sad to hear this, but not surprised. He was pissed off enough to call my uncle, so you and anyone else he’s been bothering shouldn’t have to worry any longer.”
“You told him!” Shannon turned accusing eyes towards me.
“I told you I’d take care of the issue, and I meant it.” I cupped his cheek. “Take it easy; none of us are going to let anyone harm you.”
As his eyes fluttered shut, I realized just what I’d done. I snatched my hand back as if he’d scalded me. This was a line I could not cross again. My next lover needed to be Family, preferably one who was made or would be, and in high social standing within their branch.
He opened his eyes. “Okay,” he whispered.
“Good,” I said, turning back to face my food. I picked up my fork and stabbed it into my meatloaf. My stomach was all tied up in knots from the feelings swirling through me. I’m sure the food was delicious, but I couldn’t taste it. I ended up giving Henry my portion of strudel, to his delight.
“You’re the best, dude!” he gushed, digging in.
Shannon stood up. “See you tomorrow, around four-thirty?”
“Four-thirty’s good.”
”Great! I’ll see if I can reserve the same study room for that time, then. I’ll stop by and fill in the signup sheet. If we have to get a different room, I’ll let you know.”
“Hang on, let me give you my number. That way, you can text me.” I pulled my phone out. He looked happy about this, probably happier than he should be. I cursed myself for my slip up earlier. I should never have touched him. He took out his phone, as did Henry and Rusty. We all exchanged numbers.
“If my cousin bothers you again, text me A.S. A. P. and let me know,” Henry told him.
“Okay,” Shannon said, but he said it in a way that sounded as if he was just trying to appease us.
“Seriously, dude, don’t mess about, call or text one of the guys or me if he does,” Henry insisted. “Roy’s bonkers. He used to bully me as a kid. He’s a nasty piece of work.”
Shannon took a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay, I will,” he said, his voice now firm. “You’re right. I shouldn’t take risks.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” I agreed.
“We should text each other and meet for breakfast,” Rusty said.
“Why would we text and then meet?” I asked.
“Text to say we’re on our way and for us to decide where we’re going to eat, duh,” Rusty said. “What if we wanted to go to the diner for pancakes?”
“My meals are included in my bursary,” Shannon said.
“Oh,” Rusty looked crestfallen, then brightened. “Yeah, but we could treat you.”
“I could do it to thank you for helping me,” I said.
“Maybe,” Shannon replied, his lips twitching. “But, I’ll text you to let you know if we got the study room we wanted or not.” He picked up his tray and took it to the collection window.
