Butterfly (Delfosse-Brothers #3)

Chapter 1

Noah

“Professor?” My professor looks up from a stack of papers and notes. Who on earth still works like that? He isn’t even that old.

“Yes, Mr. Martin?”

“We’re supposed to find a partner for the project assignment…”

“That’s correct. Who will you be working with?

” That’s exactly the question, because once again everyone looked at their feet when I tried to find someone.

Just the way it was in school, but back then I blamed it on the fact that école maternelle wasn’t mandatory and I didn’t go.

So when school started, I didn’t know anyone.

The fact that I wasn’t in the soccer club, and my mother didn’t allow friends to come over didn’t help matters.

I had hoped things would be different at university, that I’d make friends.

I wanted to find people I could talk to, to sit with in class and to have lunch with in the cafeteria.

Maybe even to have a beer with at the student’s bar right next to campus.

But as of today, halfway through my second year, that hasn’t happened and I’m still fucking alone.

So alone that in an auditorium of fifty people, no one wanted to work with me. Fantastic feeling.

It’s nothing new, it just feels like high school 2.0. I’ve always been the small, weird nerd with the 4.0 GPA. If there is any upside to always being alone, it’s that you’ve got a hell of a lot of time to study.

“I… um, I don’t have a partner. There was no one left.”

My professor looks up from his papers in surprise. “Oh, but that can’t be. This course has an even number of students. Maybe someone was sick.” He pauses, looking around. “I’ll make a note and we’ll see next week who your partner will be.”

***

“We formed the teams for the project assignment last week, but someone must’ve been absent because it didn’t quite work out. Who still needs a partner?”

A hand goes up in the back row. Fuck… What the hell did I do to deserve this? I should’ve guessed that he was the one absent though.

Luca Delfosse. For the past year and a half, he’s been showing up late to every class—if he showed up at all—just to ace every damn exam.

He’s always surrounded by people kissing his feet, and he doesn’t even have to do anything.

His mere existence is enough, and everything revolves around him.

Although I do get a sense all that fussing is a bit much for him sometimes.

“Ah, Mr. Delfosse, of course. You’ll be working with Mr. Martin then. A promising pairing! Very exciting!”

I can’t do this; I can’t work with him. He’s everything I’m not. Loud, demanding, and cheeky, Luca bends every rule to his benefit and is completely unreliable. He’s everything I’d love to be, but never will. There is no way we can work together.

“He can’t even speak French properly.” Okay, that’s bullshit and a low blow, even for me. His French is fantastic, especially considering he’s not a native speaker.

If the rumors are true, he didn’t speak French at all until he was twelve. Now he’s 100% fluent and has no German accent whatsoever. Where the hell he learned that, I have no idea, because no one really knows anything more about Luca Delfosse than his name and his sexual orientation.

He looks at me with raised eyebrows. “Fuck you.” Then he turns around and walks away.

Yep, exactly. Fuck me. I’m so fucked. Without that grade, I won’t pass this course.

“You should sort that out before you start working on your project. Good luck.” With those words, my professor leaves the auditorium.

***

For three days in a row now, I’ve been trying to avoid Luca Delfosse.

There’s no rational explanation for why I shouldn’t work with him.

In fact, I should be happy—with the two of us teaming up, that A is ours.

But he stirs up every insecurity and every longing I so badly try to keep in check.

And usually, I’m good at that, just not with him.

A constantly changing group of acquaintances circles him like moths to a flame.

Luca doesn’t have a set group of friends, but he’s never alone.

The girls practically throw themselves at him.

That’s probably how it is when you’re graced with his looks, but what do I know?

I’m small and unassuming, while Luca Delfosse is probably 6’5” tall with a slender, defined build.

Very likely the result from some kind of sports, like volleyball or soccer.

If he were a girl, he’d be Snow White with his jet-black curls, very pale skin, and bright blue eyes behind thick, long lashes, and full red lips.

His features might have been described as feminine if it weren’t for his angular jaw and deep voice.

Basically, he won the lottery when it came to his look.

The mere fact that I think of him like that should give me pause.

I have too much time on my hands. If I had friends, I probably wouldn’t be watching my fellow students.

Although, I’m in good company. Everyone’s watching him, everyone’s hoping for a chance.

And if you believe the photos on our Students Association‘s Instagram page, Luca Delfosse is not picky. Openly bisexual, he’s seen in tons of photos with young women and men alike.

But no repeats… so they say. And never anything serious.

I, on the other hand, have never talked to anyone long enough to even come close to kissing them. That’s okay, I’m not really into physical affection anyway, I just don’t want to be so fucking alone.

Bottom line is, I’m damn jealous of Luca Delfosse. Fuck.

“Hey Noah, can I sit here?” The universe really has no mercy on me.

“How do you know my first name?” I ask, suspiciously.

Luca looks confused. “We’ve been in the same program for a year and a half, and we have every class together. Why wouldn’t I?”

There are a few others here on campus who fit in that description and I’m sure none of them would get past my last name, if they even knew that.

“I’m…”

“Luca Delfosse, don’t worry, everyone here knows you.” My voice is sharp and unfriendly, yet he grins at me and holds out his hand.

“That’s right, Luca Delfosse, and you’re Noah Martin, the only other straight-A student in our class. May I?”

I always thought he was too self-absorbed, too superficial, or simply too absent-minded to notice anything at all. I guess I was wrong. “You’re going to sit down even if I say no, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Snorting, I shake my head and point to the chair across from me.