Page 32 of Break You

I rolled my eyes. She was infuriating in the extreme. “Just sit. Please?”

“Wow. What have I done to deserve actual manners from you?” If only she knew. “If I’d known I was in for such a treat, I might have put pants on.”

“You’re wearing pa—. Wait, did you actually come out in your pajamas?”

“Yup. I told you it was a PJ day. I wasn’t about to make an effort, just because I’d been summoned by Little Lord Ownitall.” She smirked at her own joke.

“Very funny. Sit.” I motioned again to the chair opposite me, and to my surprise, she actually sat down. “Is everything okay?” I inquired; my tone gentler this time.

“None of your business. Why would you even ask me that?” She stared me down, suspicion written all over her face. I stared back, maintaining a look of total indifference. I wanted her to think I was an open book.

“You skipped Psych after breaking my balls about the assignment, and now you’re here in your nightwear. Do I need any other reason?”

“Maybe not, but like I said, my personal life is not in your remit as my assignment partner.”

“I disagree. We’re supposed to be getting to know each other, remember?”

“Okay. But why didn’t you just ask me that via Messenger?”

“So that you could shut me down, and fob me off there?” I couldn’t keep the irritation from my voice.

“Exactly. Anyway, if that’s all you dragged me here for, I’ll be on my way.” She made to get up.

“It’s not all. I’ve pulled together an outline of how I think we should approach the assignment.” I handed her my iPad.

“There’s nothing wrong with what I suggested.”

“I guess not. If you want a one-way ticket to Mediocreville.”

She was quiet for a moment as she read.

“This looks okay, I mean it looks good, I guess.”

“Thanks.” I leant over to swipe to the next page, to show her the questions and plan for executing the project in a more personalized way, that I’d drafted while I’d been waiting for her. As my skin brushed hers, we both stopped. She looked down at my arm as though it was a snake whose venom was filled with flesh-eating bacteria.

My whole body had come alive at the touch. Especially my dick. We locked eyes, staring each other down, much like we had in the yard behind Rollergirl that night. She looked at me with thinly veiled contempt, and I could see the same look on my face, reflected in her eyes.

“Are we going to ignore the fact that I finger fucked you a few nights ago, and you loved it? We both loved it.”

“Love is a strong word. We’re attracted to each other on some level. So what? We’re animals. We have baser instincts. We don’t need to read too much into it or to give in to them.”

“But we both want to.”

“Nope. That would be you only.” She held my gaze, unblinking.

“Don’t lie to me. Your mouth is saying one thing, but your body is saying something altogether different, Angry Girl.”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.” Her face was the picture of neutrality. I couldn’t get a read on her, and I hated that.

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you have dementia? You literally just proclaimed that we’re attracted to each other. That’s a fact. You’re right, it’s the elephant in the room. I’m saying okay, so let’s screw. Let’s pick the scab. We do it and it’s done, then we can finish this assignment and go on with our lives like it never happened.”

Did she just liken me to a scab? Sexy. “You’re serious?”

There had to be a catch, but that didn’t make me any less interested in pursuing what she was offering.

“Why not? We’re both consenting adults. You might have all the time in the world, but I for one don’t have any to waste on this heavy-vibe bullshit. I have way bigger fish to fry.” I wondered if she was referring to what happened the night before. “So, let’s cut the crap and get it over with. You stay at Trinity Hall, right?”

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