Page 11 of Vexing the Viper

"He's my roommate," I mutter, hating I agreed to this. Of course it would be him.

"That's even better, then. What are the odds?" He chuckles, and I force myself to not roll my eyes. This is going to suck.

It's beenan hour since my conversation with my dad, and I'm still annoyed at the fact I have to tutor King. Luckily, I'm working at the library today, so I'm hoping it gets my mind off it for a while.

I started working to make extra money throughout the school year, and I've stuck with it ever since. It's an easy job, plus it's where Mummy Mocha is located, and that café is my weakness. I can't go a day without stopping and getting a coffee from there. I'm currently walking around the third floor; shelving books students have left behind.

Shoving another book into its spot on the shelf, I spot Kovi walking up to me. Kovi is a Dryad, which means he's a tree shifter, and he's fun as hell to talk to. He stops by the library all the time and keeps me company as I put books away.

"Hey, man," I tell him as I put another one on the shelf.

"Hey, Niko, how was your summer?" he asks.

"It was awesome. What about yours?"

"Pretty good. How are you liking the new additions to the university?"

"Truthfully? I don't."

"What? Why?" he questions, coming to a complete stop.

"You're a shifter, so you don't have this problem, but look at me? Everyone is gawking at me." I gesture to my head, my snakes hissing like crazy, knowing that I'm talking shit about them.

"You may not shift, but do you know what it's like to not be able to control your shifting? It's happened to me, and it's horrible. Shifting when you don't want to could lead to disaster…" His voice trails off, and I tilt my head questioningly. I know there's a story there, but I don't want to prod.

"I get it, I do. Still fucking sucks." I mumble.

"Besides that, are you looking forward to this year?" We start walking again, Kovi and I talking the entire time I'm shelving books. While Mateo may be my best friend, Kovi is a pretty great friend, too. It's good to know that even though it's a new school year, and despite the craziness of having humans on campus, some things haven't changed.

We end up talking and walking for a while before Kovi heads back over to his table and I head out for the day. As much as I want to go home, I’m also dreading it. Strolling down to the first floor, I grab a Sarcophacappuccino giving myself a little treat.

After openingthe door to our suite, I hear sounds coming from the common area, so I head there first. Tripping over something in the hallway, I yelp, catching myself from falling. What the hell? Looking down, I see a pair of shoes that were justleft in the middle of the floor. How hard is it to put your damn shoes away? They’re not boat shoes, so definitely not Mateo’s.

I stomp over to the common area, stopping when I see Mateo and King sitting on the couch. My blood starts to boil at the mess that’s everywhere. There's cups and snack wrappers all over the table and on the floor. King takes a handful of popcorn and pops it into his mouth, a few stray pieces falling down onto his shirt and onto the couch. What a slob. I'm surprised Mateo hasn't said anything. I know he hates this more than I do.

Mateo sees me first, sitting up. "Hey, how was your first day?"

"Good," I tell him, walking over and standing next to him. "What about yours?"

"Same ol', same ol'. King and I have been hanging out, getting to know each other better."

"Ah." I don't say anything else, just scan the area again. The more I glance at the mess, the more irritated I get. I huff quietly, looking at both of them, "I'm going to head to my room. Make sure this gets cleaned up before you both go to bed, please."

I head straight for my room, wanting to hide out as much as possible. I barely make it to my door when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hey, Niko, hold on." King's voice cuts through the air, and I freeze with my hand on the doorknob. I stay still, waiting to see what he wants. "Do you have a second to talk?"

"Sure," I mutter. I give him a quick look over and I hate to say this, but he's sexy as fuck. He's taller than me, with a bulky build, but it's the backward hat that's turning me on right now. He's wearing basketball shorts and a black tee with the sides cut off but it's the fucking hat that has my dick plumping up. Lifting my head, I lock eyes with him, and goddamn, he has gorgeous brown eyes I failed to notice before. I can't find him attractive, I just can't. Closing my eyes, I gather up my hatred for him againbefore opening them and pinning him with a stare. "What do you need?"

"I wanted to say thank you."

"For?" I ask, taken aback.

"For agreeing to tutor me. I'm not stupid, but some classes are harder than others. Plus, baseball takes up so much of my time. It leaves very little space for studying. I do what I can, but I do better when I'm tutored."

"It's, uh, no problem." I tell him, even though, yes, it's a huge problem. As much as I don't want to tutor him, I can't say no to my dad.

"Hey, it makes it easier since we live together."

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