Chapter 14
Fourteen
Zee
My hand shakes when I reach for the note, pulling it closer.
I read his words over and over again, the night fresh in my mind.
I’ve always had nightmares. They include falling off a building, a dark figure chasing me, and being trapped in a room filled with fire.
Last night, I got nothing.
Last night, Sugar Skull left my mind completely blank.
Sleeping with him still doesn't answer my questions.
Liv's revelation echoes in my head, between the thoughts of Sugar Skull's face between my legs.
“Married.”
“Lola Perez.”
Lola’s still MIA, so Liv is my chance to get answers. My life depends on it.
Another notification appears on my screen, my phone buzzing against the wooden table.
Mo: ready to come home?
Grabbing my phone, I try to find the right words.
I need to tell someone about last night, but I can’t say “I came on my stalker's face."
Zee: I met someone
Mo responds immediately, her texts rolling in one after the other.
Mo: tell
Mo: me
Mo: everything!!!!
Her excitement brings mine to the surface, a spin in my gut, a smile on my lips.
One of the best things about having a crush is sharing it with your best friend. Someone who can root you on and squeal about all the cute things and, wait—did I say crush?
Do I have a crush on a man I haven’t seen?
You’re insane.
My phone buzzes again. The second alarm for my class. I make a note to answer Mo later. Right now, I’m on a mission.
It doesn’t take long to get ready. I throw on a tank that showcases way more of my tits than I’m used to, baggy jeans and one of my father’s old blazers for balance.
I hesitate in front of the mirror, knowing I’ll still stand out. I don't have anything that matches the dress code I've noticed. It's not like it's enforced. Liv doesn't even follow it.
Once I'm dressed, I rush out of the house with a piece of bread slathered in peanut butter. Until my paycheque, this will get me through.
The building with Kon’s film class bustles more than the Insectarium. It reminds me how fancy everyone here is and makes my jeans look like a joke.
Kon’s appearance doesn’t help my case when I arrive in his class.
He looks even better than last time, his ass pressed against his wooden desk in khaki slacks and a fitted blazer. His collared shirt underneath sits unbuttoned to his pecs, hairless and smooth.
I stall at the door, swallowing hard as those enchanting eyes meet mine.
“Zee,” he says, a smile spreading across his face. “I thought I saw you on my list. So glad you could join us.”
“Who’s Zee?” someone asks.
A young man.
I’m too focused on the way Kon’s eyes roam my body to see who.
My legs shake, flashing back to last night as my eyes focus on Kon's mouth.
He clears his throat. “Everyone, this is Zee.”
I move into the room, hoping my complexion hides the blush I’m feeling in my cheeks.
“We’re lucky to have her.” Kon gestures to the nearest empty seat, closest to him.
Settling into it, my eyes wander the room.
It's what I expect from an Ivy League school. Spacious and bright with glass walls and plants hanging from the ceiling. Kon has the desks in a semi-circle, so we’re all pointed towards the screen in the middle of the room.
“Where are you from, Zee?” the same voice asks again.
Turning to it, a young man smiles at me from across the room, his bright blue eyes laser-focused on me. They contrast his perfectly styled dark hair and his deep golden tan. His smile widens the longer I stare, leaning back in his navy, collared shirt.
“Settle down, Reggie.” Kon throws a crumpled-up paper at the young man’s head. “She’s off limits.”
Reggie doesn’t care, throwing the crumpled paper back. Kon laughs. He’s clearly not authoritative or a disciplinarian. He doesn’t look like one to stick to the rules, and in a place like this, it's refreshing.
Wait…
“Off limits?” I ask, my head whipping back to Kon.
“No distractions, Miss Zafar,” he says. “I want your eyes on me all class.” My heart skips when Kon winks.
My eyes fall to his lips again, wondering if they could devour me like Sugar Skull.
A squeal comes from the door, my head turning to it.
“Zee!” Liv scurries over to me in heels that make her a thousand feet tall. She works it, owning the room even in her tizzy. “I’m so happy you made it!”
It looks like she revamped Wednesday Addams ’ closet, her white collar popping out of her pink mini dress.
“Listen up, everyone.” Kon casually demands the room’s attention. “Today we’re discussing one of my favourite genres and movies. Scream.” His attention turns to me as Liv drags a wooden chair beside my desk. “Do you like scary movies, Zee?”
"I mean, I prefer books, but I love the genre.”
“Good.” He hits play on the projected movie.
It’s the scene I’ve watched a thousand times. The iconic beginning with Drew Barrymore. The scene where we first see the masked killer. Ghostface.
“Oh-ehm-gee, is it hot in here?” Liv leans closer to me as the scene plays, whispering. “‘Our prof is literally eye-fucking you.”
Oh, I’ve noticed.
Kon hasn’t taken his eyes off me since I stepped in. But if Liv notices, who else does?
Glancing around the room, most students keep their eyes on the screen. All except Reggie. His eyes are on me.
“You have to fuck Professor Velochok,” Liv whispers.
“Liv…” She smiles, glancing at the screen, like she didn’t say anything unhinged. “I can't." Even if I thought about it. “He’s our prof.”
She waves me off. “You hardly go here. If anyone can get away with it, you can. Everyone else outside of this class only knows him as your boss.”
I laugh. “And that’s better?”
"Ladies," Kon interrupts. "Your attention. Please."
Liv giggles but doesn’t press for the rest of class. It’s still hard to focus with my father and Sugar Skull on my mind. Kon’s flirty eyes and Reggie’s stares make it even harder.
Fortunately, I still manage to get through class without any major mishaps, even when my mind drifts.
“Hey, Liv, do you have a second?” I ask when students start piling out.
“I have another class in ten, but what’s up?” She beams, shoving her books into her furry white bag, large enough to fit a litter of kittens. “Oh! Is this about you-know-who?”
Kon passes us with another wink, leaving the room with the rest of the class.
Liv’s jaw hangs, and she waits until he’s gone before she speaks again.
“Girl, yes, for the gazillionth time! Fuck him!”
“It’s not about that.”
Her head falls to the side, her pinkish hair falling over her shoulder. “Is it Ezra?”
“No. Fuck that guy. Someone is—” My throat closes in, stopping the words I want to say. "Something’s up with this place.”
Liv laughs. “Yeah, no shit. This place is bonkers, babe. I’d transfer schools, but my parents would literally kill me. They want to pair me with some Eastmount boy to keep things tight, you know?” She pretends to gag, her phone chiming. “I've got to go.” She turns her shiny shoes towards the door.
“Liv, wait!”
She stalls.
“What else do you know about my father and Lola?”
She looks over her shoulder. “Come to Eastmount Manor tomorrow night. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Liv’s not available until tomorrow.
Lola is MIA.
Kon is cryptic, and Atlas? Clueless.
Time is ticking, and I can’t wait any longer.
Sitting in Lola’s office chair, I rummage through her top drawer for any evidence of what Liv said.
If they were married, does Lola have something to do with my dad’s murder?
Lola and Kon share an office separate from Atlas, and it shows. There's more personality in here. Kon decorates his side with sports memorabilia and motorcycle photos, while Lola’s desk has souvenirs from around the world. A ceramic tile from Portugal, an Eiffel Tower keychain from Paris.
I rummage through the drawers next to Lola’s desk. The top drawer holds pens, stationery and lipstick. Nothing tells me anything.
I pull on the second drawer handle.
A phone charger, some bobby pins.
A manila folder.
Pulling out the folder, I open it and sift through the papers inside.
My shoulders fall.
It’s just pages on pages of insects.
“Zee?”
Shiiit.
That voice is close. Too close.
My body stills, pages still in my hand.
Turning to the door, Kon stands in the frame, his brow arched, his gaze on me.
My chest tightens.
Way to go, stupid.
He thinks you’re a thief.
He’ll call the cops.
There goes your home, idiot.
Taking a subtle deep breath, I focus on the sounds in the room.
The whirr of the computer, the clock ticking, the gulp I make when I swallow my spit.
Kon stares at me like an eagle.
That makes me the mouse.
“What are you up to, Zee?” he finally asks, his eyes dropping to the pages in my hand.
“Lola asked me to look something up.” The lie spills out before I think it through.
“Can I see it?” He holds out his hand.
"What? You don’t believe me?”
Way to get defensive, Zee.
“Here.” He crooks a single finger.
My back straightens, my mind flashing back to the nights at my house with Sugar Skull. His short demands. His single words.
Is there more to Kon?
I’ve never seen him with a Day of the Dead motorcycle mask, but he does own a bike.
“Here,” he says again, crooking his finger once more.
My eyes linger on his hand as I give him the pages.
Could those hands fill those gloves?
“Ah, the Emerald Dragonfly.”
“The what now?” My eyes lift to his.
Were these the eyes I saw in the moonlight? In the flicker of my candle before it went out?
He repeats himself, but I’m too focused on the outline of his jaw. His broad stature. His height.
“Zee?” Kon lowers his head to mine, forcing me to meet his gaze. The back of his hand meets my forehead, a warm spark coming with it. “Have you eaten? You look a little pale.”
“Uh, no.” I blink, trying to digest his question while I map out his face.
Did I ride that face?
“Doesn’t look it.” He places the folder on Lola’s desk and holds out his hand. “Come on." Is that the same hand that grabbed my ass? That touched me to absolute ruin? “I’m still your boss. So I still get to call the shots, and I say we have time for a break. Come.”
His next one-word command shakes me as I take his hand, a swirl of heat climbing up my spine.
He smiles, leading me out of the office, locking the door behind us.
I want to ask if he wears leather gloves on his bike. Or if he has a mask with a sugar skull.
But my words stall when his finger comes to my chin. “Yeah, this angel needs to eat.”
“So he’s on the table…”
Kon laughs between his words, a fry between his fingers. The low-hanging light makes those greens really sparkle.
“And martini in hand, he tells the dean to suck it.”
I choke on my fry, my hand coming to my chest. “The same Atlas who hardly speaks and cares more about insects than humans?”
“He’s full of surprises.”
I laugh. “Didn’t know he could be fun."
“I’m funner.”
“You let me be the judge of that.”
Kon’s eyes linger on my lips as I pull my coffee to my mouth.
Is this a date?
It feels like a date.
There’s even a little tingle in my stomach.
Liv’s words flow through my head.
“Fuck him!”
“You’re alike," Kon says.
I raise a brow.
“You and your father.”
That tingle in my stomach turns into a stir. I’ve heard that before, from Atlas, but it doesn’t get easier.
“Your laugh is similar. It’s full.” Warmth fills my cheeks, my eyes falling to my cup. “He couldn’t take a compliment either.” Something nudges me under the table, and it takes me a second before I realize it’s his shoe.
Liv’s right. Kon has no fucking shame.
Maybe everyone here isn’t as stuck up as it seems.
“Was he really married to Lola?”
Kon almost chokes on his coffee, his cheeks turning red. He shifts in his seat.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
He looks around before leaning in. “How did you find out?”
“Was it a secret?”
Kon sighs. “She didn’t want to make it weird, but she does want to tell you herself.”
“So it’s true.”
“It was brief." His head tilts. “Olivia told you, huh? Are you two friends?”
“You jealous?”
“I don’t usually get jealous of lesbians, unless you swing that way.”
My eyes widen as I dramatically glance around the room. “Konstantin, did you really just ask my sexual orientation?”
“I want to know my chances.”
“I thought you threw caution to the wind.”
“You’re dodging my question.”
I squint.
Why’s he pressing so hard?
“She invited me to a party tonight.” I shrug. “I don’t know if that makes us friends.”
“You’re going?”
“Maybe.”
“Careful, Zee. Those parties can be intense.” My gaze deepens on his. “I just mean the boys here can be a lot.”
“Define a lot.”
“They won’t know what to do with a girl like you.”
“What’s so special about me?” I reach for another fry.
Kon does too.
His index grazes mine, lingering. Then he moves his finger back and forth along my skin. “A lot.”
“Don’t think I can handle them?”
“Not like I can handle you.” He leans in further, taking my hand in his. Heat stirs in my stomach. “If anyone corners you, mention me.”
“You gonna fight ‘em?”
He chuckles. “You’re just better off if they think you’re claimed. Trust me.”
“Claimed?" I snort. "Like it’s the slave trade?”
“I’m looking out for you, Zee. We take property seriously.”
“I’ve survived way worse than a university party, Kon.”
“Don't say I didn't warn you."
He shifts the topic to a trip he took with Lola and Atlas last semester, but his words linger.
Liv or the party doesn’t come up again until we’re back at the Insectarium doors.
“If you need a different distraction tonight, just let me know, gorgeous.”