Page 65 of The Penalty

“I’m going to fail this course if I don’t ace this assignment. I can’t even pull it up with the end-of-year exam.” Some of the tension I’ve been carrying in my back eases up as I make my confession.

There’s sympathy and understanding on my friend’s face. Something I’m not so used to seeing. “That sucks. Iflunked math in grade ten and had to go to summer school. It was the worst. I would totally help you if I could, but I’ve got zero knowledge of businessy things. Maybe you should get a tutor? I could help you find one.”

The offer leaves a warm glow in my chest. “Thanks. I appreciate it, but I can do this. I just have to dig in deep and ace this thing. I can do it, but I’m probably going to be a nonparticipating member of the house for the next week or so. Other than Halloween. Of course I’m in for that.”

“Okay. I’ll leave you alone, but let me know if you need anything. The three Cs. Caffeine, cookies, or chips.”

“I’m probably going to consume way too many of those this week, but I’m good for the moment. Thanks again.”

She smiles, heading off to the kitchen. There is a delicious warm curry smell emanating from that direction, so I imagine Blake is working on some masterpiece or other. He keeps us well fed. Zero regrets on my part about sneaking him past my dad’s radar.

The leather chair dips under the weight of my flop after I drop the books and my bag on my desk. I pull out my phone to check if there’s any sign of Dev. After he left me all hot and needy and then turned over and started snoring like a middle-aged man in a bad marriage, I haven’t been able to pin him down for a repeat hang. I miss his body, and his dick, but even more I miss his face and the way he looks at me. Like I’m not on a one-way trip on board the fuckup express.

I scroll through his texts instead of starting work on my assignment. There’s a lot of dopamine in his sweet messages.But the excitement bubbling inside when a new one pops up can’t be healthy.

Will Loki wear a costume?

Maybe for five secs

How about this?

The pic that shows up has me melting. Glittery red horns protrude from the hood attached to a long black shirt with bat-like wings. It’s got a devilish tail to match the horns.

ALL OF THE YES

All caps are essential to get my point across. That might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Good I bought it. We match.

And no, I was wrong. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. A selfie appears of Dev’s growly face with a halo of red, sequined devil horns. And I’m now officially dead. Goodbye cruel world.

I send him a skull emoji.

You still coming to the party?

Now I’m breathing a sigh of relief. I was worried after that night. Maybe he’s not into me anymore. Maybe he realized that I’m a mess he doesn’t need in his life. None of the daily texts were enough to reassure me that things were still good. But this.

The fact that he went out of his way to buy a costume for my furry friend, who he’s still afraid of. And he bought himself something to match? That’s love. Maybe not love. Too soon for the L word, no matter how much my heart is screaming to jump all in. Jumping all in and regretting it later is one of my special skills, after all.

But no. I’ve been letting my insecurities get to me. He wants me at his party, even though we can’t showcase our relationship.

I send him back a hundred percent emoji, along with a pumpkin and a vampire for good measure.

Good

There’s a heart emoji next to the last word he texted me for the evening, and it fills me up. Almost enough to get me through the night of reading the same paragraphs three times, while I try to focus on the supremely uninteresting textbook.

Chapter 22

Misdirection

Dev

“Cece is coming tothe party tonight. Mind your manners, assholes,” Beau is pacing the living room, picking random things up as he goes and stashing them away in drawers or the cupboards.

He does this before every party. At this point, I have no idea why he keeps anything valuable in the shared space. But it’s his house. He can do whatever he wants.

I’ve been mulling it over in my head since I last saw Cece. We haven’t been able to spend enough time together, but if Beau knew we were together, maybe that could change? Maybe I should at least feel him out before she gets here. Before he notices my feelings for her displayed on my face. “Hey, Beau.”

---