Chapter 10
It’s been two weeks.
Two painfully long weeks of awkward classes where I do just about everything to avoid looking at Tristan - something which is kind of impossible when the man in question is your teacher.
’Scarlett!’ Lily shouts, bouncing up beside me as I walk through campus. Noah appears at my other side, swinging his arm around my shoulder. Sipping from my Styrofoam coffee cup, I look between the two.
‘Ignore her.’ He says, steering me away from a grinning Lily.
‘Okay guys, what is going on?’ I laugh, confused.
‘Lily has a seriously perverted mind.’
Lily rolls her eyes. ‘I do not, I just have taste - something which you clearly don’t have.’
’Scarlett, she thinks Kevin Bacon, Kevin Bacon, is a total … ugh I can’t say it.’
Lily looked at me, her face as serious as a heart attack. ‘He’s a total daddy.’
Coughing, I choke on my coffee and a spray of caramel latte floats through the air. Noah shakes his head solemnly, the look on his face akin to that of a disappointed parent.
‘I just don’t get it!’ He says, twirling my hair between his fingers.
‘Sorry, Lily but I agree with Noah on this one.’ Lily grumbles about the two of us not having taste and stomps towards the coffee cart a few feet away.
I have no idea how, but Noah and lily already feel like lifelong friends. I mean, I don’t struggle to make friends, but I do struggle trusting people but these two have already wormed their way into my circle of trust and, honestly, I couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.
I wipe my brow, sweat already gathered there in the ten minutes I’ve been walking. God, I hate this weather! Don’t get me wrong I love LA - I love the clubs, the lights, the sunsets, I love how everything about this city is alive. But the weather? Yea, I could do without it. I swear even the trees seem to crouch together on days like this looking for shade.
As Noah and I walk in silence, Lily comes bounding towards us, the Kevin Bacon disagreement long forgotten.
‘Okay, I have just had the single greatest idea on this God-given earth.’
‘Oh god.’ Noah says.
‘Drumroll please!’ She commands. I tap one hand against my leg as I take another sip of my coffee. ‘Let’s go out tonight!’
‘Oh my god yes!’ I shout just as Noah shouts no.
’Two against one Noah.’ I say, sending him a pointed look. ‘You’re outnumbered.’
He rests his head against mine, his tousled brown hair tickling the sides of my face as he swings his other arm around Lily. ‘I’m going to end up regretting this but fuck it let’s do it.’
And that’s when I see him.
A few feet ahead of us, outside the humanities building, stands Tristan. Today he’s forgone a suit for something more casual, dark jeans with a dress shirt - his collar undone, and his sleeves rolled up, showcasing those sinewy arms.
His gaze flies between Noah and me, those green eyes narrowing as he takes in the picture. We probably look like a couple - his arm slung over my shoulder, his hand playing with my hair while he leans his head against mine.
His hand clenches around his coffee cup, while his jaw clenches. Is he … jealous? … He is! My heart does summersaults in my chest, ecstatic to see more than just that cold mask he wore yesterday.
Quickly, he turns and disappears into the building and all I want to do is run to him, explain that Noah is just a friend, and explain that the only man I have the capacity to think of is him.
But I don’t do that. I can’t do that.
Instead, I subtly untangle myself from Noah’s grip as he says. ‘Was that Professor Ryder?’
‘Yea I think so.’ Lily shrugs her shoulders. ‘Looks like he was in a hurry.’
‘Weird.’
I walk the rest of the way to his class in silence, letting Lily and Noah bicker among themselves about more debatable ‘hot’ celebrities.
There’s a knot in my stomach that doesn’t want to untie itself. No matter how many dance classes I go to, or how many times I try to ignore my thoughts of him, he always comes back.
Maybe I need to give it more time. It has only been a week. But still, something is telling me that running away from this is going to get me nowhere.
Once we’re inside the classroom, Tristan is nowhere to be found, we quickly make our way to the same seats as last time. The minutes begin to tick by, and still, Tristan doesn’t appear.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
When the long hand touches the number three, I move without thinking. ‘I’ll be back soon.’ I say to Noah and Lily and make my way down the lecture hall steps.
Knowing where his office is, I head straight towards it. The door is slightly open, affording me a view of his desk, and who’s sitting on it. Angling myself in a way that will hide me from their view, I peak in.
A woman, probably another teacher, is sitting half on his desk, one leg crossed over the other, her skirt riding up - a blatantly obvious attempt at giving him a glimpse of her thigh-highs and garter belt. Clenching my teeth, I angle my head, so my ear is closer, letting me hear them. I know it’s wrong to listen in but the anger and jealously rolling through me right now doesn’t care.
‘Hmmm, I know a nice Italian place we could go to.’ She leans in closer towards him, her mane of blonde hair hiding her face.
After a pause, I hear his voice, and despite the situation, despite the jealousy raging through me, the sound of him still sends warmth spreading between my thighs.
‘You have my number; send me the place and we can sort something out for Friday.’ His voice is low, and I know from experience that she is probably week at the knees at the sound of it.
Falling away from the door, I feel something inside me start to crack. Tears threaten to break free as I walk back to the lecture hall, my steps hurried, but I shake them away, refusing to let them fall.
It shouldn’t feel like this. I haven’t even known Tristan for long and yet I find myself torn to shreds when I find out he’s not having trouble moving on. Clearly, that display of jealousy outside was fleeting since he was soon out seducing Miss fucking thigh-highs.
Ignoring the ache in my chest, I slide back into my seat next to Noah.
‘You okay?’ He murmurs, his voice low.
I give him a tight nod and stare straight ahead hoping to go he doesn’t ask again, if he does, I might just break down and confess. But Noah gets the message, leaving me space while he chats to Lily.
Not long after, Tristan walks through the door and like magnets, our gazes connect, that stupid thread of something still strong between us despite what I’ve just seen.
He looks away after a moment, his gaze hard as granite. ‘I hope you’ve all read The Beetle by now since that’s where we’ll be starting.’
And that’s when I have an idea.
Settling into my seat, I smirk. My next class with Tristan is going to be … eventful.