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Her eyes communicated her embarrassment more than any expression or speech; the way they twitched at the tear ducts, struggling to maintain the width to which they were stretched.
“I didn’t mean to intrude. I ran out of things to fill the time and thought you’d be free. I can step out if—” she rambled, turning to leave.
“Settle in. I’ll be done in a few minutes.”
There was something about her Dayton was coming to adore. Her shy apologies and pure aura made Kenna more addicting than her predecessors and he had no doubt she’d be a harder habit to kick by the end of it.
She watched him as she unpacked. He could feel her eyes boring into him from across the room. It was not an unwelcome sensation. “Sorry, is that …?”
“It’s medicinal.” He blew a concentrated line of smoke out the window. “Okay, it’s not. Actually, my doctor is begging me to give it up.” He shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”
A calculative stare crossed her face. What was circulating through her pretty little head? What Dayton wouldn’t give to have known.
He extended the blunt in her direction, “Want some? Midterms are coming up.”
Dayton was the snake proffering the apple, but Kenna made for a reluctant Eve. She smiled like he was a madman.
If only she knew.
“I don’t do drugs.”
“This grows in the ground. I’d hardly call it a drug.” Dayton extinguished the embers and left it on the outer ledge as per standard operating procedure. He started the diffuser on the way to his desk. “I’m relieved this is out in the open, but I guess you would have found out eventually.”
Kenna stifled a laugh by clasping a hand on her mouth. What a glorious sight, innocence abounding. She began writing in her journal, as she called it.
“What’s so funny?”
Setting her pen down with a degree of gingerness, she said, “Your afternoon pleasantness isn’t such a mystery anymore.”
Half of his facial muscles flexed to produce a shrug of a smile. “You’re entertaining, kid.”
High on the list of things Kenna couldn’t stand was Dr. Merino’s insistence on calling her ‘kid.’
It was always ‘kid,’ or ‘Miss O’Callaghan.’ ‘Red-headed bitch’ was preferable tokid. She’d walked in on him smoking pot. Surely they’d entered a new circle of honesty.
“Dr. Merino?” He glanced up from his paperwork, glassy gaze acknowledging her for half a second. Even in that brief window, Kenna felt like a live sample squirming under the lens of a microscope. “I don’t enjoy being referred to as a kid. I’m 21.”
He leaned back in his chair, chest heaving. Was he tired? Annoyed, maybe? She didn’t care. Still, her mind wandered to these corners.
“I didn’t realize it upset you. You’re a lot younger than me, is all. I’ll stick to Miss O’Callaghan.”
She noted his sharper style. Dr. Merino wore a white dress shirt, a navy sweater over top. Why the sudden shift? It wasn’t the weather. In fact, it was starting to warm up. If it was a bid for attention, it had worked, as much as it pained her to admit. Handsome as the Devil had never rung truer.
“You look nice.”
God, what had she done?
Forearms planted on the desk, he disregarded the haphazard stacks of documents completely. She became Dr. Merino’s sole focus. This would’ve been a show of respect with anyone else, but with him it felt like a punishment, as if she were shoveling coal in the fiery pits of Hell.
“Are you flirting with your mentor while he’s under the influence?”
“No.” Kenna cast her eyes away.
They both knew it was a lie.
14
CHARLEE
