Page 52 of Alive and Kicking
I tilt my head to the side. “Not exactly. He’s just mine.”
His lips just barely curve upwards, but he doesn’t reply as we continue to just stare at each other. A few moments later, a person settles onto the arm of the seat I’m in and a mouth brushes against my ear. “Want me to kill him for you?” Zane whispers.
A grin tugs up my lips. I can always count on Zane being ready to spill blood for me. The idea is pretty appealing too, though I don’t really have proof this guy has done anything wrong. He could just come off as creepy.
“Hey guys. What’s going on?” Sloane asks as he casually strolls over to us.
I want to jump on both of them. I knew they would come if I needed them, but I still appreciate it all the same. I stand from my seat and gather my things, giving Theodore a tense smile. “I’ve got to go. See you Wednesday.”
He waves with two fingers. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
The words sound like an invitation, but the way he says them makes me think it’s a challenge. I curse myself for allowing him to get under my skin like that and walk away with Sloane and Zane. “Who was that guy?” Zane asks.
I glance backwards to make sure he isn’t following us or within earshot. “That’s our Criminology teaching assistant.”
“So, the guy you hate.” Sloane grins at me over his shoulder.
If he wasn’t so damn hot when he did that I’m sure someone would have punched him in the face for it by now. “Yes. He just rubs me the wrong way.”
“When the fuck was he rubbing you? That’s it, I’m killing him,” Zane snaps.
Sloane and I both grab ahold of Zane before he can turn around and go after the guy. “It was a figure of speech. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He just gives me the creeps.”
Zane shrugs. “That’s reason enough for me.”
I grin at him. “That’s one of the many reasons that I love you.”
I wouldn’t be opposed to Theodore Jeffery Johnson the third going missing without a trace, but I would feel guilty for offing someone just for giving me bad vibes. Sloane wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads us to the sociology section of Huron hall. “Thanks for the rescue, guys. Did you have to leave class for this?” I wince, just now remembering that they don’t have breaks between classes at the same time as me.
Sloane’s arm pulls me in even closer. “Nah. My class was having a quiz, and I was already finished.”
Zane reaches out and takes the hand closest to him. “I left class, but the professor was just going over some color theory and value stuff that we learned in like freshman year. I think she decided that some people in the class needed a refresher.”
I relax at that. I’m not used to asking people for help. Well except Enzo, but I’m pretty sure he would have just handed me a knife and held the guy down for me to disembowel. He’s not a warm, fuzzy, emotional-support kind of guy. I really need to sit down and have a talk with him about everything. He’s a professor of mine now, and I’m glad he’s getting to do something he always wanted to. I just wish I had gotten a warning.
I have no idea where he’s even staying. I’d expected him to come and try to crash on the couch or something. I lean into Sloane’s side. “Did you guys want to study for exams with me?”
“Yes please!” Zane pouts at me.
I grin back at him knowingly “Need help with that sociology class?” He nods. “If only you had taken it last year we could have been in the same class.” I pout at him, before giving him a teasing smile.
Zane frowns. “I actually thought about it because Nox was a TA for that, but there was a painting class at the same time that I wanted to take.”
I squeeze his hand. “At least we’ll have advanced writing together next semester.”
“Don’t rub it in. Neither of you even need English classes for your degree. And with me being a senior and taking all my electives in the first three years, I don’t have any classes I can take with Viv,” Sloane huffs.
I look up at him with a raised brow. “Don’t you think we spend enough time together doing schoolwork?”
He frowns down at me. “I guess so. Now that I think about it, I do get more study time in a week than we would spend in one class together.”
As a senior, Sloane is so much more mature than Zane and me. He demonstrates that well now by sticking his tongue out at Zane and literally saying, “Na-na-na boo-boo.” So clearly, we’re all doing so well at this whole adult thing. I’ve got a whole year of it under my belt so far and I’m kicking independences ass.
Zane
It’s quiet out as I slip through the front door. I don’t see anyone when I look around the driveway, so I hurtle over to my car and carefully close the door behind me. Once I’m seated inside, I pull out my phone and look down at it.
Zane
