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“Are you sure?” The professor steps forward. We’re ten feet from a streetlight, shadowed in the darkness. “It looks like something’s going on here. Do you need help?”
“No,” she gasps, pushing up from the truck, “I’ll be fine. Just heading home.” She glances toward me and turns toward her vehicle. Her cheeks are flushed, and she stumbles away as though she’s drunk. I like this look on her, and I need more.
Thunder rumbles through the sky and a raindrop falls.
The professor stands in the circle of the parking lot light and looks up at me. He wears a pair of wide legged, linen pants, a button-down Hawaiian shirt, and a slew of friendship bracelets that I’m sure he bought online because I don’t see his friends anywhere.
“Do you two know each other?” he asks, brushing his shoulder length grey back away from his face.
“We do. Very well.”
“How?” he probes.
I glance back toward Kenzie who’s gotten into her car. I need to move too if I’m going to follow her back.
“She works for me.” I step into the truck and shut the door, licking my fingers clean before I start the engine.
The professor’s eyes widen and I’m sure he knows now where my hands have been, but I don’t give a fuck. In fact, I like it this way.
Kenzie is mine, and the sooner everyone knows that, the better off we’ll be.
Chapter Five
Kenzie
I call my sister Iris continuously for what feels like forever. I’ve had no success the first thousand times, but this time will be different.
Voicemail… again.
I call repeatedly with no remorse for interrupting whatever she’s doing. I need to talk to her.
Finally, the line connects, and she answers, albeit groggily, “What? It’s almost midnight.”
“Nope. It’s not even eight yet. Why are you sleeping?”
She sighs. “I had a long day.”
I have so much to tell her, but I let her talk first given the fact that I’ve rudely woken her up. “Why?”
“Cooper was with Bryan tonight. They invited me to play pool down at Mullet’s bar, and I wanted to go, but I know if I do, everything will be weird. So, I put myself to bed early instead. Thank you, NyQuil.”
I can’t help but laugh. Iris has been in love with our older brother’s best friend for as long as I can remember, and it’s tortured her for years that he doesn’t share that emotion. At least that’s what we assume, given the fact that he’s so much older than her. I don’t envy Iris. That whole thing is weird. Then again, what I just did isn’t much more rational.
“How long have you been asleep for? You’re going to be all messed up now.”
“I don’t know, but at least when I wake up, they won’t be at the bar anymore and I won’t have to worry about doing something impulsive.”
“Like what?”
“Like running down there and acknowledging my undying love for Cooper’s big, hot, handsome body.”
Now I’m cackling as I say, “You’ve lost it.”
“What’s up with you? Aren’t you at class?”
“That’s the thing. You know the giant, weird, grumpy dude that I started working for?”
“James?”
