Zach hissed and waved a claw threateningly at her. “Um, I think that’s a no,” Drew told her.
She lowered her hand. “Oh well, maybe another time, when he’s more used to people.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “So, uh, what are you up to now? Did you wanna maybe grab a coffee at Starbucks?”
“Oh, no, I think I’ll give it a miss,” Drew said, as he always did when anyone suggested they grab a coffee from somewhere on campus. He normally brought a thermos from home with instant coffee in it to get him through the day, but today he’d been in such a rush that he’d forgotten. As much as he’d love to get a coffee, he couldn’t justify spending four dollars for a cup of overpriced coffee from the Starbucks on campus when that would get him enough pasta and sauce from the dollar store to feed him for a week.
“Oh, well, maybe next time,” Gwen said.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“I guess I’ll see you later then. Bye, Drew.”
“See ya.” He watched her walk off, leaving him alone in the lecture hall. “What the hell, Zach?” he hissed once she was gone. “You almost took her finger off!”
Zach sniffed and began to wash his paw.She had no right to try and look in your bag,he said silently within Drew’s mind.
“True, but it was still harsh. You made her bleed.”
And yet you broke her heart.
“What?I did not!”
You certainly did. She asked you on a date and you declined.
“She asked me along to get a coffee, that’s all. It wasn’t a date!”
Zach sighed, a warm huff in his mind.She was definitely asking you out, Drew. It’s obvious she’s interested in you.
Drew frowned, then shook his head. “Whatever. I’m not interested in her, so it’s a moot point.”
Alright then.
Drew paused . . . Zach had almost sounded smug about that, but that couldn’t be right, could it? He must simply be smug about the facthe’d gotten to torture Gwen with his sharp claws. That definitely sounded like something a demon would enjoy. It couldn’t mean he was happy that Drew wasn’t interested in her. That would be crazy.
Looking at his phone, he realised he needed to get a move on to make his next class on time. He held open the backpack so Zach could jump back in and then headed off across to the building where his next lecture was, stopping along the way to take a long drink of water from one of the drinking fountains and fill his water bottle. His stomach grumbled, empty since the meal Zach had bought for him last night, but he tried to ignore it. He would have to wait until he got home, so he drank deeply again, hoping a belly full of water would ease his hunger pains just a little.
After his lecture—in which Zach’s purring caused several people to crowd around and coo over him—Drew headed to the library as everyone else headed off to get lunch. He knew keeping busy would distract him from feeling hungry, and he had several assignments he needed to work on. He found an empty table at the very back of the library, away from everyone else, where he pulled out his books and laptop and left the backpack open so Zach could get out if he needed to.
Are you not having any lunch?Zach asked as Drew got down to work.
“I’m not hungry,” Drew murmured, the well-practised lie slipping easily from his lips.
You didn’t have breakfast.
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
Then youmustbe hungry.
“I’m really not.”
I think you’re lying, Drew.
“Good for you. What are you going to do? Put me in the naughty corner?”
Don’t be ridiculous. I’d much rather put you over my knee.
“Whatever, Zach. Can you please just drop it? I have work to do.”
Drew could feel the demon watching him, but he ignored him and got on with his work. He had his pride, and so far he’d managed to hide from everyone how much he was struggling, so there was no way he was going to break down in front of a damn demon. Drew had gone days before with very little sustenance, and he’d survived just fine. Forgetting to eat breakfast and pack something for lunch was far from the worst he’d endured. He’d swallowed his pride enough last night when he’d allowed Zach to buy him dinner, but he wasn’t going to make a habit of it.
