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“Oh, this is your place? I had no idea.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Cut the shit, Tessa. You need to leave.” Looking to her side for the first time, I recognize the blonde standing with her as another one of my students. “And you brought Lennon with you? Have you lost your mind?”
“Easy, Cujo.” She holds up a hand. “Lennon already knew about us. She was with me the night we met.”
Just when I was starting to feel like maybe tonight was a good idea after all, the one thing that tortures me on a daily basis has to show up and take my frustration level from a steady four to a rapidly increasing twelve.
I try to take a breath to calm myself. “Who even invited you?”
“Yes, please tell me so I can thank them,” Colby says as he steps up next to me.
Tessa’s jaw drops as she stares at him in shock. “You’re Colby Hendrix.” She looks to me and points at Colby. “He’s Colby Hendrix.”
I arch a single brow. “Oh, so you don’t know who I am but you know who he is?”
/> “You weren’t voted Sexiest Man Alive two years in a row, Asher.” She smiles and blatantly checks him out with not even a single ounce of shame.
“Tessa,” I growl, not liking the jealousy that courses through my body. “Don’t.”
A bark of laughter leaves Colby’s mouth. “So, you’re the infamous Tessa. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you now?” She shoots me a look of delight. “And what exactly have you heard?”
“Enough to know you’re trouble, and I happen to like trouble.”
It’s obvious Colby is only doing this to get a rise out of me. He can be a douchebag, but one thing he’s always been adamant about is not sharing chicks. Still, that doesn’t stop me wanting to rip his head off when he places his arm around her.
“Let’s get you a drink.”
I put my hand out to stop them, and she rolls her eyes. “If you don’t want to see me having a good time, fine. Just don’t look.”
With one last smirk at me, Tessa lets Colby lead her through the party and over to the kitchen. Lennon stays put, not nearly as ballsy as her friend. Unfortunately for me, I seem to lack the ability to be a total dick.
Sighing, I glance at her. “You’re not going to take pictures and brag on Monday about how you spent the weekend partying with your English teacher, are you?”
She shakes her head rapidly. “No way—and not just because I don’t want to get you fired, but because my dad would kill me.”
Good enough. “All right, go make sure Tessa doesn’t jump in bed with dumbass over there.”
As she goes to join them, I take a deep breath and try counting to ten like my therapist told me to. I only get to six before I say fuck it. Where the hell is my whiskey? I’m going to need a glass or four.
WATCHING OAKLEY HIT ON Tessa in class earlier today was hard. I wanted to do everything in my power to keep him as far away from her as I possibly could. However, all of that pales in comparison to the things going through my head as I watch her with Colby. He may be doing it to mess with me, but fuck, it’s working. He’s my best friend, and yet every time he makes her laugh or smile, I want to grab him by the throat and watch as he struggles to breathe. If he doesn’t cut the shit, I just might do it.
It’s obvious Tessa is drinking a little too much wine by the way she starts swaying. I keep an eye on her from across the room, careful not to get too close. It’s not like I haven’t noticed all the not-so-subtle glances she’s been throwing at me. If I go anywhere near her, especially while she’s intoxicated, it won’t lead to anything good. At least not good for me.
Colby leaves her side for the first time all night and comes to get her a bottle of water. It’s disgusting how much just the sight of her getting dizzy starts to worry me. The party is starting to die down by now, being as it’s two in the morning, which means that Tessa has been drinking for at least the past three hours.
“Is she okay?” I question, unable to hold back.
He chuckles quietly. “Yeah, she just had a little too much champagne.”
As he takes the cold bottle into his hand, he goes to walk away but I stop him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you mean? I’m just being a gentleman.”
“You don’t have a gentle bone in your body,” I counter. “Cut it the fuck out. I’m not kidding.”
Shrugging, he gives me his best boyish, yet devious, grin. “What’s wrong, Ash? Feeling a bit jealous?” He takes a step closer. “If you want her, go get her. She’s right there.”
