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“You’re great, you know that? I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve everything you want and more.”
“What about what you deserve?”
“I already have exactly who I want.” I can tell she wants to argue, but she doesn’t, well aware she’s supposed to be accepting it, and that makes me smile. She blushes, and her eyes flicking to my mouth. “Good girl.”
They shoot back up full of heat, and I almost regret it. Seeing the effect my teasing has on her at the beginning of a class isn’t ideal, and the tutor chooses that moment to walk in and quieten everyone down. Harlow turns to face the front and listen as he delves into the lecture. I’m not sure how much she can be following when she missed this morning’s session, but she seems engrossed in what he has to say.
“You know this stuff already?” she asks twenty or so minutes later, when we’re given individual tasks to work on.
“Some of it.”
“That’s how you set up the apartment?”
I nod, although the apartment isn’t anything crazily sophisticated. The lights and sound are run of the mill—they just look more impressive than the actual work that goes into them—and the entry system is facial recognition linked to the door lock system. It’s not that complicated once you know what you’re trying to achieve.
“How?” she asks.
“I went to university for electrical engineering; graduated a couple of years ago.” Her brow creases, no doubt figuring out the math behind it. I’m a couple of years older than her, but still, a four-year degree and owning my own tattoo shop is a lot to fit in.
“How did you do that so quickly?”
I shrug. “I went early. Eli and I both did.”
“Are you secretly a genius?” she jests.
“I prefer prodigy,” I joke, and she grins. “Education was just something we seemed to find easy, and then when something took my interest, it came even easier.”
“Like technology and art?”
“Exactly. I interned at a tattoo shop as soon as I turned eighteen, and the timing happened to work out so I had the opportunity and the means to buy the shop a year or so ago.”
“Wow,” she muses. “You’re so much more than a pretty face, huh?”
“My pretty face is still my best quality, though.”
She laughs, and the tutor shoots us a glare, so we both look down at the project we’ve been given, effectively ending that conversation.
“You wanna give it a go?” I ask her, and she chews on her lip lightly as she thinks.
“Honestly... I have no idea how you’d go about that. Or how to even start.”
“Want me to explain it?” I ask. I won’t bore her with the details if she’s just here to provide moral support, but she nods enthusiastically, and so I do, loving being able to share this with her. I would never have expected her to attend our sessions with us, but I have to admit, I kind of love that she is. I’d do anything for more time with Harlow; getting to share one of my passions with her is the icing on the cake.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Nico
After combat, I’m panting as I head back to my office to change and find Harlow sitting in my chair, legs propped up in front of her. I’m surprised to see her here, but pumped, too. I don’t like feeling like we’re not okay, especially after everything that’s happened, and now we’re so close to being good.
I close the door behind me with a click of the lock and walk over to the desk, watching as she flicks her eyes up and down my sweaty body. I smirk at catching her checking me out, and when she looks up at my face, she rolls her eyes, her own lips twitching.
“Are we friends again?” I ask, because she doesn’t look mad anymore. She stands from my chair and makes her way around to stand in front of me. “I just want to protect you.”
“Is that an apology?” she asks with an arch of her brow.
“I’m not going to apologize for it.”
