Page 4 of He Who Haunts Me

“Bex?” My eyes snapped from his mouth right up to his darkened stare. He bored through my soul like he could see every bit of me. I still couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

The piercing disappeared with the fall of his mouth, but it wasn’t exactly a frown he wore; it was something more playful. Dangerous.

I looked at Mari and her face was plastered with a shit-eating grin.

“Yes?” My voice was small, embarrassed. I’d been caught, nearly mouth agape, eye-fucking his mouth.

Jai turned back to Mari, briefly whispering into her ear. Whatever he said had her cocking an eyebrow.

What is he saying to her now? Fuck, is it about me staring?

His Adam's apple bobbed as he leaned away to await her response.

Is that supposed to be a provocative thing? Are the planets misaligned? Am I feverish?

Mari nodded at him, blissfully mischievous.

He stood tall and made his way to the exit. My eyes couldn’t help but follow. I was ensnared by the way his large frame moved with surprising grace. The back of his T-shirt was a blurry and sketched graphic similar to the front with large grungy lettering of an obscure and forgotten band, and its linework led my eyes straight to his waistband.

My entire body tilted as my gaze dropped low.

His pants did a poor job of hiding his ass.How does a man even come into an ass like that?His hips rolled as he took another step.

There's aweird desire to see him in all his nak—

“Bex!” Mari whisper-yelled as she snapped her fingers in front of my drifted gaze.

“What?” There were zero cognitive processes happening.

“Why are you practically drooling over Jai?” she accused. I whipped my head back toward the exit, fearful he hadn’t made it out yet. Being caught once was more than enough embarrassment for one day. “He’sgone, B.” When I met her piercing glare, I saw the accusation.

I summoned up words that were neither elegant nor believable. “No, I’m not—I wasn’tdrooling, Mari, jeez.”

She rolled her big amber eyes, clearly not buying any of my peddled shit. She tapped her fingers on her folded arms, waiting.

“I’m just intrigued is all,” I admitted with a small voice, not even believing my own lies.

“Intrigued? You were five seconds from snatching the man’s soul out of his body!”

“Oh, come off it. I was not!” I fiddled with the mechanical pencil between my fingers, looking for a distraction and a change of topic. “It’s Jai. There’s nothing there. He’s justJai.”

“Just Jai, my ass.” Mari leaned in closer, taking another peek around before demanding in a whisper, “Do you like him?” Her freckles crinkled as she scrunched her nose in excited anticipation.

“I don’t even know him.”

And that was the truth.

Partially.

October 7, 2020

Bexley

I left my lecture hall and wound my way through the corridor toward the library building. The conversations were just mumbles and noise as students shuffled along the tiled floor. The air was stale and smelled faintly of sweat. Too many shoulders brushed me as I walked on.

Tension was building in my neck, and I desperately wanted it to be Friday, but it was just fucking Wednesday. Not that Wednesday was inherently bad; the worst day is actually Tuesday.ThisWednesday, however, was in the middle of the midterm season.

I was ready to throw in the towel.

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