I huff, annoyed that I have to listen to them arranging their dates.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nova’s head turn in my direction for a second. “Yeah, for sure. Ayanna and Luca will be meeting us at Antoni’s.”
“All right, cool.”
They both pass by my desk, and I chance a glance up and meet Nova’s gaze. She gives me a tight, forced smile, then leaves without saying anything.
I find that I’m looking forward to seeing her tonight for her tutoring session, and I’m regretting that I arranged to meet her in the library, because all I want right now is to lay her across my desk and devour her.
Fuck.
18
“Girl, I’m tellin’ you, he likes you. I know he’s a jokey kind of guy, but I think he may be trying to mask how he really feels just in case you aren’t feelin’ him like that, you know?”
I cock my hip and stare into Ayanna’s eyes. “You might be right. He’s been doing a little more lately.”
“Lorenzo’s fine, girl,” she says, pursing her lips. “Has a bit of a player vibe, but maybe he’s not. In any case, he’s not a teacher.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Shush.”
She barks out a laugh. “I’m just sayin’, and if that don’t work, or if you don’t wanna go there, then we still have this weekend.”
“All right. Well, I gotta get back,” I say, jerking my head toward the library. I haven’t told her that Elijah’s my tutor yet. It would probably spark more questions, but he clearly doesn’t care about that if he’s choosing to meet here.
“Okay, I’ll text ya later.”
My shift ended ten minutes ago, so I took a quick break to run to Hug-a-Mug for a cup of coffee and a bagel. I ran into Ayanna on my way back, and now I need to hurry back in because I’m sure Elijah’s already waiting on me.
Sure enough, as I’m speed walking to the back of the room, I spot him at the table in the far corner, his back to me. The white material of his button-up shirt stretches across his thick back muscles, and I remember what it felt like to hold onto those muscles as he was thrusting inside of me.
A shiver runs up my spine at the thought of it, but I quickly rid myself of those memories and rush up to the table.
“Sorry, El—Professor,” I say, stumbling over what to call him. “I was starving and running low on energy, so I had to make a quick coffee and bagel run.”
He lifts his own coffee cup. “I did the same. It’s fine.”
“Okay, so what’re we working on today?” I question.
His eyes roam over my face curiously, like he’s waiting for more, but when I don’t say anything else, he speaks up.
“We’re going to go over your last test.”
I scrunch my face up. “Yeah, that wasn’t good.”
“Well, let’s see if we can change that.”
Halfway into our session, after he’s explained each problem, and pointed out what I did wrong, I’m trying to solve them all on my own. I glance up briefly and find that his eyes are trained on me as he leans back in the chair.
The intensity in his gaze gives me pause and makes my heart race. I quickly look back to my paper and keep working.
This man is driving me crazy. He says we won’t be together again, but the looks he gives me makes me believe he wants to ravish my body.
I finish the first page of the test and put my pencil down, taking a few seconds to stretch my arms out to the side and arch my back. “Just taking a tiny break.”
He nods. “So, do you have any plans for this weekend?”
The question catches me off guard. “Um. Yeah. I’m going to a party on Saturday, then spending Sunday doing laundry and maybe some shopping.”
Elijah clicks some keys on his computer, like he isn’t all that interested, then says, “I may have overheard that today.”
He’s referring to when me and Lorenzo were talking. I bite down on my grin, but now I know for sure that he pays attention to me in class. He hates that I’m talking to Lorenzo so much. I know it. Professor Kingston is jealous.
“Oh, yeah, me and Lorenzo are going together.”
I watch as his jaw tightens just slightly. “Mmhmm, I heard that as well.”
“That reminds me,” I say, grabbing my phone off the table. “I wonder if he’ll go to the store with me.”
A very low, almost inaudible growl rumbles in his throat. “You have a test to finish.”
I place the phone back down on the table and pick up my pencil, getting back to work. I only do one problem before I stop writing and look up at Elijah.
“If you’re going to be jealous, then maybe—”
“I’m not jealous of that kid,” he snips, his voice low. “You were…”
I lean forward. “I was what?”
He exhales, bringing his hands up to his head, running his fingers through the strands as he looks off to the side. He looks tortured.
“Nothing. Just forget it.”
“I wanna know.”
“I’m not jealous,” he repeats, his eyes piercing mine.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
The furrow between his brow deepens. “You two make more sense than you and I ever will.” He glances around, searching for eavesdroppers. “I’ve been through more than most people will ever experience. I’m a grown man with responsibilities, and you’re too young to understand—”
I raise a hand, cutting him off. “Let’s stop right there. I’m gonna tell you right now, you’ve got to get over this age thing. Yes, I’m younger than you, but don’t tell me what I’m too young to understand, because I can guarantee that you’d be surprised to learn about what I’ve been through.”
His face relaxes a fraction and his shoulders loosen up as he watches me. I see questions lining up behind his eyes, but I’m not in
