Chapter 21
21
EVELYN
M y thighs clenched, my pussy throbbing as I shifted in my seat and wet my lips. I needed to concentrate, but it was our first class back since the night of the storm, and all I could focus on was what it felt like to have Ethan’s head buried between my legs and?—
“What are you thinking about?” Brodie asked in my ear, and I just about jumped out of my seat. He smirked knowingly. “Something dirty, I’ll bet.”
Brodie. Shit. Now I was thinking about his kiss and whether it was a one-off. What would he do if I leaned in right now and?—
“Shut up,” Andrew hissed from my other side. “Some of us don’t have an automatic passing grade in this class.”
My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock. If I’d been under any illusions that Connor would keep my secrets, that dispelled them.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Lewis?” Ethan asked from the front of the class, his voice projecting with authority that made my face flush…and not with em barrassment.
I cleared my throat, willing my cheeks to stop burning. “No, sir. No problems here.”
Ethan’s lips pursed and he ran a hand over his shadowed jaw. “Hmm well, I’d like you to stay behind after class nonetheless.”
Wait, was he serious?
Andrew muttered something that sounded suspiciously like an insult, but Ethan had already moved on with the class and I bit my lip in an attempt to concentrate.
Brodie seemed totally unfazed by the attention we’d drawn, placing his hand on my knee beneath the desktop and shooting me a lazy grin.
“How come you’re so late?” I whispered when he held my gaze, curiosity burning within me.
Brodie shot a pointed glance toward Ethan, then withdrew his hand to flip open his notebook. He scribbled out a quick note, then pushed it in my direction to read.
Got caught on a call with my agent. Did you miss me?
I rolled my eyes but smiled as I replied on his notebook.
Yes.
Brodie’s grin was brighter than the sun itself as he took the pencil back, our fingers brushing deliciously.
Do you have plans next weekend?
I arched a brow, scribbling my quick response.
Maybe re-grouting the bathroom tiles? Why?
Now it was Brodie’s turn to roll his eyes.
Can I take you on a date?
Of all the things I thought he was going to write, I hadn’t expected that. I stared at him for a moment, trying to guess if he was maybe messing with me or joking around or…had I maybe misunderstood the question?
A date?
Another mischievous smirk from him that made my heart go all melty .
Yes. Sort of. I have a work thing and I’m allowed to bring a date…
I blinked slowly, rereading his neat handwriting several times while trying to decipher some sort of hidden meaning.
And you want to take me? Why?
It was a dumb question, considering he’d basically told me he was interested in me and then kissed me, but if it was a “work thing,” then it was a celebrity thing, and Brodie must have had his pick of hundreds of gorgeous actresses and models he could take.
Brodie gave a soft laugh as he wrote his reply.
Because Drew looks shitty in a dress…and I like you, Evie.
He dotted the i of Evie with a heart and I just about died dead right there. RIP me. Until Andrew reached over and snatched the notebook from under my nose.
“No,” he said firmly to Brodie, leaning forward to glare over me. “And I’d look fantastic in a dress. I look fantastic in everything.”
His indignation was sincere enough that my shoulder shook with amusement and Brodie grinned like the Cheshire Cat. But Andrew didn’t give the notebook back, so we both reluctantly started paying attention to Ethan’s lecture.
Or…I tried. Brodie’s hand rested on my knee once more and the little circles his thumb traced on my thigh had me all twisted up and practically panting by the time class finished. I’d have thought my needs were fully satiated by Ethan during the storm, but evidently, I’d been wrong.
“Ms. Lewis,” Ethan called out as we packed up and the class emptied, reminding me that he’d asked me to stay behind.
I licked my lips, anticipation thrumming through me as I approached his desk at the front of the room. “Professor Sullivan,” I replied, unable to keep the sultry purr out of my voice. We hadn’t discussed where we stood with one another or what this would all mean for his job, but I was pretty sure he wanted more .
That made two of us.
His gaze flicked up from the notes he was skimming, heat blazing in his sexy face. Then his eyes shifted past me. “You can go, Brodie. I only want Ms. Lewis.”
Brodie slung his arm around my shoulders in an almost possessive way. “I just bet you do.”
Ethan’s glare darkened and he straightened up to his full, imposing height. “Brodie, I didn’t ask for?—”
“Oh good, I’m just in time,” Connor announced, strolling into the classroom with a smirk.
Ethan threw his hands up with a frustrated gesture. “What the fuck are you doing here? You don’t even have classes today, Con.”
His surly brother shrugged. “I heard our favorite professor wanted alone time with our sweet, innocent little housemate. Decided I should make sure there’s nothing inappropriate going on.” He jerked a short nod to Andrew, betraying who’d tipped him off. Traitor.
I shook my head, shrugging Brodie’s arm off my shoulders. “Okay, I think that’s my cue to leave. We can talk later, Ethan. I need to visit the library after lunch, anyway.”
Before anyone could point out that my comment about the library was entirely irrelevant—we could talk at the house tonight—I scurried out of the classroom and almost collided with Haze.
Somehow, I managed to pull myself up right before I face-planted into his chest, and he extended a hand as if to help me balance. It didn’t connect with my elbow, but the thought had been there before he’d flinched away.
“Haze,” I gasped, craning my neck to look up at him. “What are you…” I glanced behind me to the class I’d just left, frowning. “Did you and Connor… Actually, never mind. I’m heading to lunch. I’ll see you later.”
Ducking around him, I resumed my quick pace out of the building, inhaling deeply once outdoors. Maybe I could track Nina down and tell her…what? I couldn’t tell her shit thanks to the NDA, but maybe if I skirted the truth and swapped some key info? Maybe if I posed hypotheticals?
“Can I join you?” Haze asked from right beside me, and I jumped.
“How are you so sneaky when you’re so you .” I waved a hand at his impressive size, shaking my head. “I need to get you a collar with a bell, just to save myself from a coronary.”
Haze gave me a thoughtful look, like he was debating the fashion statement a bell collar might make. Then he shrugged. “So can I?”
I blinked again, then connected the thoughts. “Oh. Sure, I guess.”
He nodded, satisfied with my agreement, and didn’t speak again until after we had loaded up our trays in the cafeteria. Even then, it was just a firm, muttered, I’ll pay , before swiping his watch on the card reader.
Nina and Sven found us only a few minutes after we sat down, and I relaxed when they joined us with their lunches.
“Haze, these are my friends,” I introduced them, remembering my manners. “Nina and?—”
“Sven,” Haze rumbled, giving my friend a cold glare. “You’re the one who walked Eve home last week.”
Sven gave an uncomfortable chuckle in return. “What, do you have security cameras spying on us or something?”
He intended it as a joke, but Haze’s expression didn’t change. In fact, it gave me a weird sensation that he was about to admit that yes , he did have hidden cameras everywhere. But that’d be absurd…right?
“Okay, awkward,” Nina muttered, spearing a piece of watermelon with her fork. “How are things over at the Haunted House? I’m guessing none of you have encountered any ghosts yet? ”
She’d been teasing me about the “ghosts” since the day we’d moved in, and I shook my head with a grin. “Ha-ha, very funny. It’s just a house, and actually a nice one if you can look past the decades of neglect and disrepair. Nothing that can’t be fixed, right, Haze?”
My quiet companion quirked a brow like he hadn’t expected me to continue including him in conversation. “Right,” he murmured.
“If you say so,” Nina continued, chomping on her fruit, “but I wanna hear more about Connor’s budding career as a backup singer. Any more shower concerts?”
Haze’s attention flicked back to me from his food, the faintest sparkle of amusement gleaming in his eyes. “What?”
I carefully schooled my expression, doubling down on my bullshit since I couldn’t tell my friends anything real. “I told Nina about Connor’s shower concerts,” I informed him with a straight face, “and how impressive it is that he knows every lyric of Taylor’s full set list. Not even I could nail all the eras like that.”
Haze’s lips twitched, but that was all the reaction he gave before wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Yes, well, he’s been to at least ten of the concerts. You should see his friendship bracelet collection.”
Nina gasped. “Shut up. Is it bad that makes him kinda hot?” Sven snickered, shaking his head and Nina amended her question, “ More hot, I mean. The man is straight fire. Eve, you’d know?—”
“Oh!” I quickly exclaimed, cutting her off before she could bring up the whole Connor-Ethan kiss mix-up situation. “How’d your study date go on the weekend? You never texted me back!”
Easiest way to distract Nina: get her talking about herself. Specifically, her love life. I let out a small sigh of relief as she started in, in depth, about a guy she’d been talking with for weeks and finally met in person.
Haze watched me silently, but I just gave a tight smile back and busied myself with eating my lunch. To my surprise, he waited for me to finish, then offered to walk with me to the library as it was on the way to his chemistry lab.
That comment made Nina glower. “Now that you mention it, Haze, were you totally aware you nearly killed Eve with that explosion the other week? She was really hurt and?—”
“I’m aware,” he acknowledged. “I said sorry.”
A laugh snorted out of me and I couldn’t hold back my grin. “Yeah. I’ll catch you later, guys.”
Nina and Sven both gave me cheek kisses and promised to text later as I headed out with Haze. For a few moments we walked in silence, and I got the weird feeling he was angry about something.
Right as I was about to ask, he turned to me with a bemused frown on his face. “Con loves to sing Taylor Swift, huh?”
I grinned. “I didn’t hear you denying it. In fact, I heard you adding fuel to the fire. Besides, if I can’t tell my friends anything true…why not make some shit up? It’s harmless.”
Haze just grunted in response, and I got the distinct impression it was his version of approval.