Page 27 of Neo

“You’ve been asking me questions since I got here,” I reply. “Why stop now?”

That makes him chuckle, which is super sexy to watch. Neo has a panty melting smile when he dares to reveal it.

“Why don’t you like Christmas?”

“I never said I didn’t like it.”

“You have a visceral reaction to it,” he says.

“What do you mean, I have a visceral reaction? We’ve known each other for all of two minutes. How could you assume to know that about me?”

“I’m an athlete who pays close attention to body language. I don’t need to know you intimately to notice that your nose flares and your body tenses when someone mentions it. It’s like Santa Claus did you dirty one year and you’re holding it against him.”

I emit a small laugh because Neo is funny, and I’m not even sure he’s trying to be.

“It used to be my favorite holiday.”

“Who ruined it? Some dude I gotta beat up later?”

“No,” my voice softens. I take a deep breath and just say the words. “My mother died suddenly last year on Christmas Eve.”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” he offers what feels like a sincere apology.

“It’s fine. You couldn’t have known.”

“Is that why you transferred here to VCU?”

“I had to come live with my father, who lives about thirty minutes away from campus.”

“But you’re a legal adult, right?”

“Of course, but like most students, I have zero financial independence.”

“I see. Well, maybe one day you’ll like it again.”

“Like it?”

“Christmas.”

“Maybe,” I reply, but I seriously doubt it. Christmas will always remind me of the most painful time in my life. A time when my vibrant, colorful life permanent shifted to gray. There’s nothing that can change that unless someone invents a time traveling machine and I can get my mother to a hospital in time.

Lucia ends up cooking us a delicious southwestern seasoned lunch of grilled chicken and veggies along with some of her famous virgin prickly pear virgin margaritas, and it’s the best thing I’ve eaten since I moved to this damn desert.

“I hope Lucia gets paid well,” I tell Neo because I highly doubt that the woman gets paid a fair wage. These privileged-ass hockey boys have it so good.

“That sounds like an accusation instead of an actual question.” His face tightens. “You think the big, bad hockey boys are taking advantage of our sweet, five foot tall house manager?”

“This is America.” I shrug my shoulders. “And do I believe that it’s very possible this big, baduniversityis underpaying a domestic worker? You bet I do.”

“Huh.” He studies me for a lengthy period as he deliberately chews a fork full of food. “Very interesting.”

And in this moment, I’m not too sure if Neo wants to fight me or fuck me, although the latter might be wishful thinking on my part.

violet

“You’re a judgy thing,aren’t you?” he says, breaking the awkward silence between us.

“Was that being judgy?”

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