12. Delilah
Chapter twelve
Delilah
W alking out of the courtyard into one of the dining halls, I bit my lip as a few people looked over to me. Kimiko was busy and would be coming to join me for lunch in a matter of minutes. Having her not by my side regularly made me realize how much the students looked at me, and boy, was it a lot. I did my best to ignore them, as the majority of them were having their own conversations.
Standing at the fruit section, I felt someone’s gaze on me.
I looked up and sighed internally. Luca sat staring at me from across the room, and the look on his face was sinister. There was a seat open in front of him, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think it was an indication that I was supposed to sit there, especially with the way he practically stared me down.
Why can’t I just enjoy my damn lunch?
A hand found the small of my back, and I flinched as I looked around. Since I had previously glanced at Luca, I obviously knew it wasn’t him. When I saw who it was, however, a blush came to my face, and I turned away from his eyes. I tried to step away from his hand, but he continued to walk with me as I looked at the different choices.
“Hello, Delilah,” he greeted, my name rolling off of his tongue.
“Hi, Archer... Where have you been?” I said softly, trying to ease the awkwardness I felt. I could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke.
“Have you been looking for me? I’m flattered.”
I shrugged. “No. I just noticed that you weren’t in your usual classes...”
“Hmm, well, I took the morning off campus. Went to work on my studies at my father’s office to assist him. That gave me a pass to skip a few of my morning classes… Although, I do appreciate your concern.”
I went to speak, but I sensed him getting slightly closer, and he whispered, “I also notice you’re getting a lot of attention from across the room.”
“Unwanted attention,” I muttered, annoyed, and Archer chuckled, causing a weird feeling to go through my body.
Stepping away from him, I sighed as he followed behind me. Walking out of the dining hall, I went over to Kimiko’s office, deciding to meet her there, and he followed me as I did.
“We haven’t talked about the other night, you know…” he muttered, and a blush came to my face as I shrugged.
“That’s because there’s nothing to discuss.”
The halls were practically empty as my heels and his footsteps echoed through the walls.
“Is that so?” he muttered, and I remained silent, not wanting to engage with him.
As I walked, however, I was stopped in my tracks. I bit my lip softly as I felt the bottom of my blazer being tugged only slightly. However, it was enough to make me stop. He knew that.
Slowly, he pulled the fabric closer to him as he stood, and I backed up slowly, knowing better than to run from him now. Luca was daunting on the surface, but Archer… Archer knew how to intimidate me. His presence always overwhelmed me, controlled me, possessed me. From past experiences, I knew better than to provoke him too much. Now probably wasn’t the optimal time to give him a piece of my mind.
He said nothing after a moment, and I grew frustrated as I went to pull away.
“Archer—” I began and gasped softly as he pulled me closer to the point where I was practically against his chest.
“Trying to walk away from me, Princess?” he asked, leaning down to my ear with a whisper.
I gulped softly and shook my head, feeling flustered at the name he always used for me.
“…N-no. I wasn’t,” I lied, and he simply hummed, his eyes meeting mine as he stared at me possessively. Maybe it was only in my mind, but I could feel time stopping as his lips seemed almost appetizing. His gaze made my mouth water slightly as it was filled with hunger and need. Am I the one making him feel this way? Why the hell can’t I just push him away? God, what is going on with me?
As soon as we had entered the heated moment, it was ruined only a few seconds later as we both heard a throat being cleared. We looked to see Kimiko standing right in front of us with her books in her hand and a blank look on her face. Quickly, I pulled away from Archer as he let go of me.
Kimiko grabbed my hand and kept her gaze on Archer, who was now emotionless.
“My apologies, Archer, but I have to speak to Delilah… alone,” she fumed, and I found myself being quickly pulled away.
We entered the room for her office, and I looked around to see many boxes still needing unpacking. Kimi’s assistant/vice president, Avery, looked over at us and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Delilah.”
“Afternoon, Avery.”
“What brings you in—”
Kimiko slammed the door shut and glared at him. “Not now, Avery.”
“Of course,” he said and quickly returned to his task.
Kimiko turned back to me and crossed her arms.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, and I sighed.
“Is that all people ask me nowadays?”
“Delilah! Listen to me. You two had a moment , if you will, but that doesn’t mean you display it for the whole student body to see!” she exclaimed.
I discreetly looked over to Avery to see if he was catching on, but he was oblivious to the entire conversation.
“It wasn’t for the entire school, Kimi. And he caught me off guard! What was I supposed to do?”
She sighed and walked over to her desk. “You were supposed to keep it under control, Delilah. One small slip-up, and your father will turn the academy upside down in a heartbeat.”
I didn’t say anything as I knew she was right.
Avery raised his hand, and Kimiko sighed, noticing his childlike maneuver.
“Yes, Avery?”
He lowered his hand. “Would you like me to order food for Delilah as well?”
“If you want to, you can,” Kimiko said, and Avery nodded and got on his phone. A few moments passed as I took a seat on the chair, and Avery went to raise his hand, but Kimiko rolled her eyes. “And yes, Avery, you can get an extra side of fries for yourself.”
I laughed internally as he slowly lowered his hand and continued to order.
My mind drifted back to the conversation at hand, and an idea came to mind— a terrible idea that would not be a smart choice and would cause problems sooner or later.
But it could be helpful for the time being... Plus I need advice, I tried to rationalize with myself.
You have Kimiko for advice.
I looked over at her and sighed. But she’s too busy for my problems. I don’t want to distract her more than I already have. Besides, could he be the worst person to ask for help?
Yes.
I shook the thoughts from my head and spent the rest of my lunch enjoying time with Kimiko and, thankfully, not thinking of Luca or Archer.
An hour or two had passed, and as my classes had finished up, I had to say goodbye to Kimi as she stayed behind for her presidential duties.
I stopped at the exit and saw George’s car in the front. I stared at the phone in my hand, debating on whether or not I should talk to him.
Since you don’t want to listen to me, you might as well do it now, I thought once again and sighed as I dialed the number.
It rang a few times before I heard a voice.
“Hello?”
“Hi... Do you have any time to talk for a little while?”
“Of course, Kitten . For you, I can make it all the time in the world. Stop by the office when you’re free.”