Chapter 56: Chapter 56
Heather
Gabriel and a few of the guys strode up to me as we walked down one of the paths to the courtyard. Brent’s hand came to rest on the small of my back and the guys stopped. I didn’t need to look up at him to know he was giving them a serious stare down.
One by one, the boys looked at the ground and stepped back to let us pass. Being with Brent definitely had its perks. Maybe the rest of the guys would quit telling me what and how much to eat.
A few heads popped up to stare at us as we entered the cafeteria. But after we’d gotten our food, he led us to a table alone.
"Xander said you’re one of the best fighters."
He shrugged one shoulder. "I had the best teaching me. My father and Presley. The two of them sparring was one of my favorite things to watch." He leaned forward. "Do the rumors about you and our relationship bother you?"
"I’m used to being pointed at." I ran my fingers through the ends of my hair. "I try not to let them get to me."
"But they do?"
I squirmed under his stare. He saw too much of me already. "I’m only human." He stayed quiet.
"Whatever. You know what I mean."
"So you really like all the groups you wear shirts for?" he asked.
"Seeing as how I made most of those shirts—yes. I really do."
"Favorite show you’ve seen live?"
I chewed on my lip as I thought. "There was this Above & Beyond show that I went to a few months ago. It was epic. They played for two and half hours and the tracks were sick. They kept turning down the volume to let us sing along with vocals. You know what it’s like when the whole crowd was in sync—dancing. It was just perfection."
"When was the show?"
I was never fantastic with remembering dates. "Mid-April-ish. At Avaland in LA."
He grinned. "I was there."
"Shut up." There was no way he was there. I would’ve noticed him.
"It was epic. The track they ended on—"
"Amazing, right? Gave me chills." I shook my head. This was crazy. "What’s your favorite show ever?"
"I saw Apparat play in Munich. It was amazing."
"You’ve been to Munich?" It seemed weird picturing him anywhere but St. Francis’s.
"I’ve traveled quite a bit. My father was from France, so I spent summers growing up there. As I got older, I roamed around Europe a bit." He shrugged. "I try to go to a new place every year. It’s a thing."
"Sounds fun." I always wanted to travel more. "So who is Apparat?"
"You don’t know Apparat?"
No way. He just out weird-music-ed me. "Should I?"
"Yes. For sure. I’ll send you the tracks."
As we talked, he became more like a real person than an obsession—which should have eased my attraction to him, but it didn’t. Every time he said something, I wanted to know more. He was sweet and laughed easily. Yet I knew from watching him fight vampires that he was dangerous.
When we finished eating, Brent and I sat among the trees and did more control exercises. I got lost in the sounds of inhales and exhales, the wind softly breezing through the leaves, the chirps of the birds. I could’ve sat with him forever.
My hands rested on my knees. It took me a while to realize they were getting hot. Then fingers slowly linked with mine. A lazy smile spread across my face.
"I have to go patrol, ma chérie. And you have to go inside before the sun sets."
I tightened my fingers around his. "No," I said, squeezing my eyes shut.
His lips pressed against my forehead.
I flopped onto the grass, tugging him down too.
He hovered over me, his weight on his forearms as he lightly brushed his lips against mine. I growled. That was not the kiss I was going for.
"Come on. I’ll walk you to the dorm." He pulled me to my feet. "We’re not going to have a repeat of the other night."
A shiver ran down my spine. Being inside was suddenly very appealing.
When we got to the entrance to the dorm, he spun me in his arms. His lips weren’t soft this time. They demanded more. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me. His tongue brushed against mine, and I lost it. I gripped the back of his shirt in my hands, pulling my body flush with his.
By the time he inched back, we were both out of breath. His forehead rested against mine. "I’ll pick you up in the morning for our trip off campus. Go inside. Be safe." I kept my eyes closed for a second as I leaned back against the door. His heat was gone, leaving me chilled. "Holy shit," I said to myself. He was beyond intense.
When I opened my eyes, he was already in wolf-form running across campus. A group of wolves waited for him next to one of the buildings. I watched until he disappeared from view, and then slid shakily to the ground.
It took me a few minutes to trust that my legs would work.
Serena’s room was empty while I got ready for bed. I guessed they were still out, but I wasn’t upset about it anymore. Nothing they were doing could compare to what I’d experienced that day.
I went to bed smiling for the first time since I got to St. Francis’s.
The next morning, I was already dressed and ready to go on my date-ish thing with Brent when Serena stumbled sleepily into my room.
I clicked off my music. "Sorry. Didn’t meant to wake you?"
She waved me off and mumbled something incoherently.
I wore a flowy, short purple skirt and a grey tank top with flying little black birds printed across the front. "What do you think?" I said as I ran my hands down the skirt.
"About?"
"My outfit?"
"Are you going somewhere?"
I lifted my chin up. "Yes."
"Really?" She yawned and curled up on my unmade bed. "Mr. Langdon lifted the jail-time?"
"Kind of. Brent is taking me to the bookstore. Mr. Langdon said Brent would be held responsible for me."
Serena laughed. "Wow. So. You and Brent."
"Kind of." I couldn’t stop the blush from spreading. "I guess. We’re taking it slow. Very slow."
She jumped and swung me into a hug. "This is so exciting. Were we right? About the mate thing?"
"It’s weird that you can just pick me up like that." I tapped her shoulder and she put me down. "And ix-nay on the ate-may. That word is now verboten. Freaks me out."
"Ha! Every girl here would kill for the connection that you guys have. Including me. So mate. Mate. MATE."
I stuck my fingers in my ears and sang loudly as she talked.
She waved her hand in my face. "Okay. I’m over it."
She looked me up and down. "And yes. Cute and casual."
A knock came from my door. "Come in," I said.
Brent opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb. "You ready?"
My mouth went dry as I took him in. Well-worn jeans hung low on his hips. His white T-shirt had a bright colored map on it that looked almost like the London Underground but wasn’t. I wanted to get a closer look but he distracted me with his smile.
Shit. He could lean against things so well. I cleared my throat. "What’s on your shirt?"
He started to blush a little. "It’s a bus map. For Westeros."
"You read George RR Martin?"
He grinned.
Why did we have so much in common? It was weird. "Let’s go," I said as I tugged on a pair of gloves.
"You two crazy kids have fun," Serena called after us.
"Goodbye, Serena," Brent said as he closed the door.
"God he’s hot," Serena said from behind the door.
I grabbed Brent’s hand, linking our fingers together.
"We heard that!" I said.
He winked at me and my heart stuttered.
Before we got to the parking lot, Mr. Langdon stopped us. Faint shadows under his eyes showed his exhaustion. "You’re needed."
Callista stood next to Mr. Langdon looking pretty satisfied with herself. All the hairs on the back of my arms stood at attention.
"Can any of the others handle it?" Brent asked.
Mr. Langdon’s lips thinned. "Afraid not."
Brent squeezed my hand before letting go. "I’ll be back as soon as I can."
He didn’t spare me a second glance as the three of them took off. Every time I thought I was getting a handle on us, he disappeared. I swear I saw his back receding in the distance more than I saw his face.
All the little doubts in my head telling me he was too good to be true reared their ugly heads.
It didn’t help that he was leaning down close to Callista as she talked to him quietly. Or that she looked back at me and grinned like she’d won this one.
I wanted to stomp my foot, to scream and kick something, just anything, but I didn’t. Sinking to her level would be a mistake. If Brent was really my m-word, then I’d have to trust him at some point, but the fact was that I didn’t. Not fully. Not yet.
