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Colin came skidding through the doorway, his bright blue cardigan a blur against the white walls. His Chucks squealed loud enough on the linoleum to grab the room’s attention.
“I’m here, I’m here,” he announced. He set his hands on his knees and heaved a breath, then smoothed his hair back. Not that any of it had moved. “I just got off a call with Professor Frances. Unfortunately, she’s quite under the weather, so Allison and I will be handling class today.”
Their eyes met. Behind his loose composure, panic flashed. Seeing it helped to calm Allison’s own. Something about being afraid with someone else always made it easier. That’s why the buddy system existed.
Besides, Colin didn’t know it, but Allison already had a plan. And plans made everything manageable.
“All right.” She clapped her hands. “You heard Colin. Everyone get into groups of four and, um, do the following.” Grabbing her squeakiest dry erase marker from her bag, Allison approached the white board and jotted out instructions to help them compare the Wife of Bath’s tale with her prologue.
She faced the room again. “You have twenty minutes. Go.”
As if she were some sort of conductor, a cacophony of voices and movements burst to life at the wave of her hand. Pride filled her chest.
Stepping down from the podium, Allison joined Colin at their table. He was staring down at her anthology, comparing it with her open notes. He’d jammed his hands on his hips so his elbows jutted out, a pair of bony wings.
As soon as he sensed her presence, he slid closer so their arms pressed together, as if he couldn’t help but touch her. Allison’s face grew hot. She bent toward the open page so her hair would shield her from the students.
“Good call on the group work,” he said. “And the questions.”
She shrugged. “I just mimicked what Wendy does when we start a new text. And group work is always effective in recitation.”
Colin scratched his chin, his eyes on the book. “I should try that more often. They talk so much I worry there wouldn’t be time.” His tone was not the least bit boastful, but it still skewered Allison’s middle.
She pretended to study the lines of the poem. “So, Wendy called you?” she asked casually.Don’t ask why. Don’t ask why.“How come?”
Her mouth knew no authority but its own.
Colin arched an eyebrow. “You mean why did she call me insteadof you?” Allison cringed, but his mischievous smile was front and center. He pulled off his glasses and wiped the lenses on the hem of his “Gotham Is for Villains” T-shirt (the boy had no DC/Marvel loyalty; it was gross). “She didn’t specifically seek me out. She called the main office while I was in there and Mei handed me the phone.”
The tension strung through Allison’s muscles eased. He could have lied and lorded it over her forever, yet he’d put her feelings before winning. Heat burned her cheeks, and she pressed her arm more firmly into his. “Admit it,” she teased. “You were hanging around the office, hoping she’d call.”
With a glance over his shoulder at the class, Colin dipped his head toward hers. “I only do that for you.” His breath was feather-soft as it brushed over the shell of her ear. Then, as quickly as he was there, he was gone, pacing the front of the room with her book cradled in his arms.
Allison’s head spun with his sudden absence, and her body blazed. She needed to sit down, but her chair felt too far away, so she dragged herself onto the tabletop.
She swore some of the students were staring at her, like they could see the throb of her pulse in her veins. She needed to get her head back on track. They were leading a class here.Find some damned decorum, Avery.
“So.” Her voice cracked, forcing her to clear her throat to cover it. “I’m assuming Wendy gave you instructions?”
Colin laughed. “She said, and I quote, ‘You two have got this.’”
“Shit.” Allison bit her lip.
Colin’s hazel eyes caught the movement. Slowly, they traced the curve of her mouth. “I know you have a plan.”
“I do not.”Lies.
Though at this particular moment, that plan involved letting him kiss her up against the whiteboard until she forgot her own name.
God. No wonder people warned against dating co-workers. This was torture.
Straightening her shirt, Allison gave her side a small pinch. They needed to get their TA hats on right now. And secure them there. With cement, if need be. (Or, perhaps, Colin’s strong-hold hair gel.) Her future in the program depended on it.
He crossed his arms, hugging her book to his chest. “Youalwayshave a plan. Let’s hear it.”
It took Allison another moment to fully banish all thoughts of last weekend from her mind. Then, with a sharp breath through her teeth, she straightened her spine and nodded toward the board.
“I thought we could organize the class around the last question.”
