“Uh—” Felix’s eyes flick to mine.‘I’m going to kill you.’I mouth while my eyes drill daggers into him.
His smile widens. “Yeah. Go for it.” Hopping on one leg, he does his best to angle his body out of the way enough for Cecilia to get a firm grip on his calf and pull.
“Shit,” he mutters.
“Did I hurt you?” she asks, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
“No. You’re good. Try again.”
“Are you sure?”
He smiles down at her. “Absolutely.” Felix reaches down for her hands and places them both on his leg. This fucker is flirting with her. You’ve got to be kidding me. As soon as she turns away, I make a slicing motion with my thumb across my throat.
Felix’s eyes dance with mischief. I swear this asshole has a death wish.
Cecilia yanks on his leg again and this time with both of them pulling, they’re able to dislodge his leg from the iron rails on the banister. Felix stumbles back into the wall before regaining his footing and as he does, two doors upstairs open and both Atticus and Deacon stick their heads out of their respective rooms.
“Everything okay down there?” Atticus asks. Green eyes scan the scene before him, and he grins. “Felix, what did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he grumbles. “I was just walking up the stairs, minding my own business, when I tripped and somehow ended up with my leg stuck. I swear it’s like the railing reached out and grabbed me.” Right. He was innocently walking up the stairs. What he fails to mention is why he was downstairs to begin with.
Cecilia giggles and all four of our heads swing toward her. Her lips slam shut once she realizes she has our attention, and her cheeks heat, turning a beautiful shade of pink.
“Thankfully, this fine maiden saved me.” Felix reaches down and offers her his hand. Hesitantly, she places her hand in his and allows him to pull her to her feet. “My savior,” he croons.
Puh-leeze
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, stepping up beside them. “Don’t get stuck anywhere else tonight. We have a project to work on and you’re turning into a distraction.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks, like he doesn’t already know about it. What’s his angle here? “What’s the project about?”
None of his business.
“We have to put together a presentation arguing our stance on whether or not world powers should intervene in the genocide being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.” Cecilia tells him.
“You’re pro-intervention, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “Obviously.”
“Cool. Want some help?” Felix asks her.
Absolutely the fuck not. This is supposed to be my time with Cecilia. I’m not fucking sharing it.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Her eyes flick to me. “He can help, right?” she asks, biting on her full bottom lip.Fuck. Does this girl have any idea what she’s doing to me?
“We can help too,” Atticus says, stepping into the hall. Deacon follows suit, and the next thing I know, all three of these fuckers are following Cecilia and me as I usher her back into the dining room.
She eyes her original seat, gaze now assessing so before she says anything, I grab her books and the messenger bag she’d set on the table near the wall when she first came in.
“You three,” I dip my chin toward my roommates, “sit over there.” I indicate the side of the table that puts the wall at their backs.
Felix rolls his eyes, but no one questions the order as they shuffle one by one to the other side. Cecilia exhales a small sigh of relief, and I set her things out on the opposite side of the table. This leaves her back clear, so if she needs to get up quickly, she won’t be sandwiched between anyone. She won’t feel trapped.
I take the seat on her right, leaving the chair on her left open.
Cecilia’s gotten more comfortable around the guys now that she’s gotten to know some of them, but there are still momentswhen I can see the panic in her eyes. Like she feels the walls closing in.
She usually avoids leaving her back exposed. That’s why she claimed one of the seats against the wall to begin with. But that was when it was just the two of us.
