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It’s meant to be murmured under my breath, but judging by the way his hand tightens on the counter, he heard me loud and clear. More importantly, he’s affected by it. I file that little fact away and swallow the pills down with my glass of orange juice, then lick my lips deliberately as I watch him.
“You okay?” I tease. “You seem a little…flustered.”
He narrows his eyes to slits and shakes whatever thoughts he was just having from his head. “Do you need a ride home?”
“No, I drove here, but that reminds me.” I hop off the stool and stand in front of him. “Why did you let me sleep in your bed? Why not have Colby take me home with Lennon?”
His jaw ticks and I can see the subject of his best friend makes him angry. “Because I don’t want you anywhere fucking near him.”
“What? Why not?”
He goes to walk away. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Why, Asher?” I press, following closely behind. “Is it because of last night? Because I knew who he was and not you?”
“Don’t.” His tone is a mix between a demand and a plea. “Don’t push me on this.”
Yeah, no. Not good enough for me. “Do you think I want him for something? Is that it?”
“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?” he snaps, whipping around to glare at me. “Drop. It.”
“No. Not until you tell me why.” When he doesn’t respond, an idea comes to mind that’s either brilliant or reckless. Either way, I’m going for it. “Fine, then I’ll just ask him. Lennon had him put his number in her phone last night. Something about getting an autograph for her dad.”
It’s a total bluff, but I keep my poker face in position and pull my cellphone from my pocket, scrolling to Lennon’s contact.
“Tessa—” He says my name like a warning, and I look up at him and smirk.
“Last chance, Hawthorne.”
Turning away for a second, he grips at his hair and groans. “Because the thought of anyone within five feet of you makes me feel like my blood is on fucking fire.” He spins back around and his eyes meet mine. “Is that what you wanted to hear? That it’s not all in your head? That you drive me absolutely insane with how bad I want you sometimes?”
His admission surprises me, but I do my best to mask it. “Then what’s stopping you? I’m right here.”
A dry laugh emits from the back of his throat. “That’s part of the problem! You’re always right there. Always looking the way you do and tempting the shit out of me, but I can’t give in, Tess. You’re my student. There are rules.”
“Fuck the rules.”
For the first time since the morning I left the hotel, he smiles brightly at me—with his dimples rendering me speechless. He runs his knuckle gently down the side of my face.
“I wish I could have that mentality, I really do, but I can’t. There’s too much at stake.” Coming closer, he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to get in the shower, and when I get out, you need to be gone.”
With that, he spares me one last look, then walks way and disappears into his bedroom. And me? I’m left standing here, wondering what the fuck just happened.
THE STREETS ARE CROWDED as I hold the phone to my ear and navigate through the mess of people. Delaney is rambling about how much she’s loving school and how well Knox is doing with his apprenticeship. It’s nice to hear her this happy, Lord knows she deserves it, but I miss her. The selfish part of me wishes I could just fly to Rhode Island and kidnap her—force her to come back and never leave without me again.
“You have to come visit soon, Tess,” she tells me. “You’ll love it here.”
“Yeah, definitely. I just have to figure out when.”
I can hear her sigh, even with all the noise around me. “Are you okay? You sound a little off.”
And there she goes, being able to read me just by the sound of my voice. To say what happened with Asher this morning was confusing would be the understatement of the century, but what made it worse was the thought that he’s never going to throw caution to the wind. At least not for me anyway.
I reach the building and duck inside. “Yeah, I’m all right, but I just got to my class. Can I call you later?”
“You better,” she threatens. “I mean it, Tessa. Don’t make me come back there.”
“Oh, is that an option?”
