11. Cass
Cass
And for once, I was right. I didn’t sleep hardly at all that night.
By the time morning came, I was groggy, disheveled, and less awake than I would like to before having a big confrontation with Linden.
But there was nothing I could do about it.
The time had come to go to the conservatory and serve my sentence, so that’s what I did.
The greenhouse was already unlocked when I arrived, which meant Linden had beaten me there.
Of course he had. The guy probably didn’t need sleep the way normal people did, what with all his plant magic or whatever.
I pushed through the entrance, steeling myself for whatever awkwardness was about to unfold.
He was kneeling beside one of the planters in the eastern section, his hands glowing that familiar golden color. He looked up as I approached, and I watched his expression shift from focused concentration to something more guarded. So he was nervous too. That was something, I guess.
“Morning,” I said, keeping my tone neutral as I set down my bag. “Ready to get to work?”
“Yeah,” he replied, standing up and brushing ash from his jeans. “There’s a lot we need to accomplish today.”
So we were just going to pretend last night didn’t happen. That was fine. That was actually better, probably. Less complicated. Less likely to end with me completely fucking everything up.
Except it wasn’t fine. It wasn’t better. And as I watched him move around the greenhouse, carefully examining the plants that had survived, I realized that pretending was going to be torture.
“Linden,” I said finally, unable to help myself. “About last night—”
“You made your position clear,” he cut me off, his voice careful and measured in a way that somehow made it worse. “We’re working together. That’s all.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Sparks.” He turned to face me fully, and I could see the effort it was taking him to maintain that calm expression.
“I understand. Really, I do. You don’t want to get involved.
So we won’t. We’ll just work on the greenhouse and when the semester ends, you’ll go back to your life, and I’ll go back to mine. No harm done.”
Except there was harm done. I could feel it, this ache in my chest that had nothing to do with the physical labor I was about to endure. I’d hurt him. Not catastrophically, maybe, but enough that he was retreating behind that careful politeness of his.
“That’s not what I wanted to say,” I started.
“Then what did you want to say?” he asked, and there was something in his tone that made me stop. Not anger exactly, but a kind of exhaustion. Like he didn’t want to hear me feed him more excuses.
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Because the truth was, I didn’t know what I wanted to say.
I wanted to tell him that I was scared. That I liked him more than was probably healthy given the circumstances.
That the thought of him giving up on this, on us, made me feel like I was throwing something away.
Instead, I said, “I’m sorry. For what I said last night. I was being a coward.”
Linden was quiet for a long moment, studying my face like he was trying to decide if I was telling the truth or just making shit up to spare his feelings.
“You weren’t being a coward,” he said quietly. “You were being honest about how you feel. I respect that.”
“But I wasn’t being honest,” I said, pushing myself to actually say the things I’d been thinking about all night. “I was scared. I am scared. Of you realizing I’m not worth the trouble. Of my parents finding out and losing their minds. Of a lot of things, actually.”
Linden set down the small potted plant he’d been holding and turned to face me fully. In the soft morning light filtering through the damaged greenhouse walls, he looked almost ethereal. Definitely too good for someone like me.
“I’m not asking you to not be scared,” he said slowly. “I’m just asking you to not make decisions for both of us based on that fear. That’s my choice to make too.”
“So what, you want to try this?” I asked, and I could hear the disbelief in my own voice. “Even knowing what a disaster I am?”
“I want to try,” he said simply. “If you do.”
I thought about what Nerion had said last night.
About taking chances. About how sometimes the most wonderful things came from doing something that seemed crazy.
And I thought about how Linden had kissed me in the grove, surrounded by ancient trees and northern lights, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Okay,” I heard myself say. “We can give it a shot I guess.”
Relief flooded across his features, and I watched as that careful politeness melted away, replaced by something softer. Something that looked almost like joy.
“Really?” he asked.
“I’ll try not to make you regret it,” I said, but I was smiling despite myself. “Can I ask you something, though?”
“Sure.”
“Why did you kiss me last night?” I asked, staring up into his eyes. “You just… did it. I didn’t see it coming at all.”
Linden was quiet for a moment and I watched as he seemed to be searching for the right words. His gold eyes held my gaze until he seemed to find them at last.
“It just… felt right,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re handsome, and I wanted to kiss you. Does it need to be more complicated than that?”
I stared at him for a long moment, processing his answer. Because honestly, I’d expected something more complicated. Some grand explanation about destiny or fate or the magic of the grove drawing us together. Not just... it just felt right.
“That’s it?” I asked. “You just felt like kissing me, so you did?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a shrug, and I could see the faintest hint of amusement in his expression. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” I admitted, running a hand through my disheveled hair. “It’s just... I don’t know. Most people overthink shit like that. They worry about timing and consequences and whether it’s a good idea. I overthink everything.”
“I’m not most people,” Linden replied, stepping closer to me. “And I don’t need any more reason to kiss you than I just want to.”
My stomach fluttered as he got closer, the heat of him washing over me.
I felt my entire body begin to tingle, the blood pooling in my groin and making my jeans tight.
My cheeks burned with a mixture of embarrassment and lust. I couldn’t help but glance down, wondering if he was having the same reaction.
He reached out and tucked a strand of my dark hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my cheek. The touch was gentle, and it made my breath catch in my throat.
“I want to kiss you again,” he said softly. “If you want that too.”
I did want it. God, I wanted it so badly it almost hurt. But we were in the greenhouse, where anyone could walk in and see us. Where Professor Paulson could show up. Where Nerion could materialize with his easel and his knowing smirk.
“We should probably work,” I said, even as every part of me rebelled against the words. “The Dean’s probably got some sort of magical surveillance on this place.”
“He doesn’t,” Linden smiled. “I checked.” He leaned down close, his lips only an inch or two from mine. “We’re all alone here right now. Nobody’s even going to be awake for at least another hour.”
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. At least an hour. We had an hour alone together. The thought made my pulse quicken.
“Yeah?” I managed to get out.
“Yeah,” he confirmed, and then he was kissing me again, and this time there was nothing tentative about it. His hands came up to frame my face, tilting my head back slightly to deepen the kiss. I opened my mouth to him eagerly, my own hands reaching up to grab fistfuls of his shirt.
His tongue swept against mine, and I felt that familiar surge of magic crackling through my veins.
But this time I didn’t fight it. I let it flow, let it dance with his, let it build into something bigger and more intense than I’d ever felt before.
The air around us grew warmer, and I could swear I felt the temperature of the greenhouse climbing.
When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard.
“Your magic,” he murmured against my lips. “Does it always do this when you kiss someone?”
“No,” I said, pulling him closer. “Just with you.”
He glanced up as a cloud began to form, warm raindrops falling on us slowly. “It’s beautiful.”
Before I could respond to that, he was kissing me again, and I lost myself in it completely. His hands slid down my sides, settling on my waist, and I could feel the warmth of his skin even through my shirt. I wanted to touch him, wanted to feel the muscles I’d been cataloguing all week, wanted to—
A sound from the entrance of the greenhouse made us both freeze.
“Shit,” I muttered, pulling away from Linden quickly. My cock was hard in my jeans, and there was no way to hide it. “Someone’s here.”
Linden didn’t look particularly concerned. He just straightened his shirt and stepped back, giving me some space. I was grateful for that, at least. I turned away, trying to will my erection down as footsteps echoed through the greenhouse.
It was Professor Paulson, carrying a box of what looked like seedlings. She took one look at us standing there in the eastern section, and I watched as her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Good morning Linden.” she said, completely ignoring my existence. “You’re here early.”
“I wanted to get a head start on the day,” Linden said smoothly, like we hadn’t just been making out five seconds ago. “I brought some specimens back from the grove last night and Cass wanted to help.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. But Professor Paulson just gave me the stank eye before turning back to Linden. “Thank you for that, Linden. I brought some from my personal stock as well. Maybe the pair of you can start work on the glass today so we can begin the replanting efforts.”
I watched as Linden nodded respectfully, his expression perfectly professional. If I hadn’t just had my tongue in his mouth two minutes ago, I would’ve believed the act completely.
“That’s generous of you, Professor,” he said. “We’ll get started on the glass right away.”
Professor Paulson set the box down carefully beside one of the larger planters.
“See that you do. I want the western section cleared and ready for replanting by the end of the week.” She paused, her sharp gaze flicking between us one more time before settling back on Linden.
“And try to keep your... assistant focused on the work, would you?”
Heat crept up the back of my neck. She’d definitely noticed something was off. I just wasn’t sure how much she’d seen.
“Of course,” Linden said, completely unfazed. “Cass is very dedicated to making things right.”
After Professor Paulson left, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. My cock had finally softened enough that it wasn’t obscenely obvious in my jeans, which was a relief.
“That was close,” I muttered.
“A little bit,” Linden agreed, but he was smiling slightly. “I think she suspects something.”
“She definitely suspects something,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “She looked at me like she wanted to bury me in here.”
“She’s protective of the greenhouse,” Linden said, moving toward the western section where the damaged glass panels were stacked. “And of me, I think. She’s been my professor for nearly four years. She cares.”
I followed him, my mind still half-focused on the feeling of his lips on mine and half on the very real possibility of getting caught making out on school grounds. “So what, we just... don’t do that again until after hours?”
“I don’t know,” Linden admitted, examining one of the few remaining glass panels. It was warped from the heat of the fire, the edges blackened. “I’m not very experienced with this sort of thing.”
I almost laughed. “Wait, are you telling me you’ve never snuck around with someone before?”
“Not really, no,” he said, shooting me a look that was half embarrassed, half defensive. “I’ve been pretty focused on school and the grove. Dating wasn’t really a priority.”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to do something about that,” I said, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. “Because I’m going to make sure you get the full college experience before you graduate.”
Linden looked at me for a long moment, and I could see something shift in his expression. Something softer. More open. “You’ve been talking to Nerion, haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Mostly because he never shuts up.”
“That is definitely true,” he grinned before leaning in and kissing me once more on the cheek. “Let’s get to work, Sparks.”