I stop in front of them, my gaze fixed on Jax. “What up? You’re not hassling my students, are you?”
Blesk blushes and lowers her head—I don’t like that.
“Oh, no, B, you’ve got this dickhead as your tutor?” Jax grins. “Well, you’re so lucky I know him.”
“Mr Slater knows not to treat me any differently,” she says, still avoiding my gaze.
Mr Slater?
“Mr Slater,” Jax taunts. “So, Mr Slater, we’re still on for tomorrow night, right? I’m gonna kick your arse.”
Friday night is poker night, and I usually lose. I completely ignore his comment.
I turn to Blesk. “Seriously, just call me Konnor, okay?” I dip my head, trying to get her to acknowledge me. Her eyes drift everywhere except my face, her smile wavering. This is not good. She needs to know what happened, that I spoke to Pemberton, that?—
“See you at six, okay? I’ll pick you up outside your dorm.” Jax hands Blesk her bag.
Why did he have her bag?
What the hell is going on?
“Okay,” she mutters, cheeks flushing. He made her flush. She’s blushing because of him!
Barely getting the words out through clenched teeth, I ask Jax, “So how do you know each other so well all of a sudden? What have I missed?”
Real subtle.
“We bumped into B at…” He pauses, and with every second his silence grows heavier. “At The Basement Lounge.”
Right.
The one place I can’t go.
“Had a few bevies,” he adds.
“Right.” I try not to choke on his words. I don’t know what to say to that, don’t want to think about that. That he might have purposely taken her somewhere that I can’t go— No. He wouldn’t. “Well,Bneeds to get to class now.”
“Later, Blesk.” Jax edges to leave, but turns back, wraps his arms around her, and hugs her.
My teeth snap on a growl.
Fuck.
Jax: One.
Konnor: Zero.
My cheek muscles pulse.
Blesk looks stunned, her eyes widening over his shoulder. But then, for the first time today, her eyes sweep to me. I part my lips, needing to say something—like sorry, I’m a dickhead, we need to talk, why do you feel like mine?—as our eyes hold each other…
Suddenly, we are interrupted by noisy students moving around us, and she looks away. The moment’s gone.
It’s okay, because he hugged her and she looked at me. Her eyes went to me. She likesme.
I take a deep breath, then exhale slowly. Just got to get through class. I nod at her, before trailing the students.
My heart pounds in my chest as I study the newbies; everyone is pulling chairs out from the stacks like they already own the space. Small class—fifteen students. It seems that some of them know each other. Blesk doesn’t know anyone, sitting down by herself.
