Page 30 of The Jack*ss in Class

That landed. I watched her throat work as she swallowed. “Some secrets aren’t about trust. They’re about protection.”

Hmm. That had me scooting my chair closer. “Protection for who?”

She met my eyes then, and something in her expression made my chest tight. “Everyone.”

Before I could push further, the professor called time. Tempest turned back to face front so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

I spent the rest of class watching her take notes, her handwriting getting messier every time the professor talked about the weight of carrying secrets. When the bell rang, she was packed and halfway to the door before I could even stand.

“Hey.” I caught up to her in the hallway. “You coming to the hockey house tonight with your sorority sisters?”

“Parties aren’t really my thing.”

“Because you’d rather hide in your books?”

She stopped walking. “I don’t hide.”

“Prove it.”

“That’s your play? Really?” She shook her head, but I caught the ghost of a smile. “Questioning my courage?”

I shrugged, trying to look casual even though my heart was hammering. “If the book jacket fits...”

“You’re impossible.”

“Is that a yes?”

She shouldered her bag, already turning away. “It’s a ‘we’ll see.’” But this time when she walked away, her hips had a little extra sway to them.

“Smooth,” Gryff said, appearing at my shoulder. “Real smooth.”

“Shut up.”

“You know your rule doesn’t actually work if you spend every minute thinking about her, right?”

I watched until Tempest disappeared around the corner, that notebook-sized mystery still tucked in her bag. “Rules schmules, bro. Rules schmules.”

PONG CHAMPIONSHIPS

TEMPEST

I'd just queued up “That’ll do, Pig” when someone pounded on my door.

Mierda. The only people who knocked were the ones not in the Baby Donkey Sitters Club.

If it was House mother Henderson checking to make sure I was actually staying in to answer the safety sister phone, I was going down fast and hard.

Baby Donkey was sleeping hard, and barely even pricked up his ears. Maybe if I arranged some stuffed animals around him, she wouldn’t notice.

Yeah, right.

Before I could have a full-on panic attack, the door swung open and three faces peered back at me. Parker, Hannah, and Alice stood there barely containing their giggles. Phew.

“Emotional support tacos,” Hannah announced, holding up a grease-stained paper bag. “No arguments.”

I waved them in, reaching for the bag where the smellof Cluck U’s street tacos wafted through the air. “I’m on safety sister duty tonight.”

“No, you’re not.” Alice flopped onto my bed. “Bettie’s taking over. She said, and I quote, ‘If Tempest spends one more night in those ridiculous slippers watching farm animal movies, I’m calling an intervention.’”

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