Professor Richman begins going over his expectations for this class, but his words fade off into the background.
Yet another ruined first class then,I muse to myself as I watch Letty out of the corner of my eye.
After what seems like forever with her sitting beside me and her floral scent filling my nose and driving me insane, I lean toward her slightly.
Her spine straightens as she prepares for my next move.
"Get lost on your way to Columbia, Princess?"
Her lips flatten as she fights the need to say something back to me.
That's the fun with her. She can't help herself.
Her chin drops and I suck in a breath waiting for her response.
"I'm trying to listen."
She leans forward on her desk, effectively putting me behind her. It's a move that pisses me off beyond belief, that she can discard me, forget about me that easily.
I chuckle and after a few seconds, she glances back at me, her eyes are narrowed in anger as she attempts to pin me with a look that she hopes will shut me up. I'd like to think she knows better than that by now.
The gold flecks in her eyes shine under the harsh fluorescent lighting above it. It's only this obvious when she's angry or turned on. I like to think with me this close that it's a little of both, but I know I'm only lying to myself. The reality is that I need to be sleeping with one eye open because she's likely to stab me in the middle of the night. Her and the line of others which will probably be headed up by Luca Dunn himself.
"What?" she snaps. Her eyes briefly flicking around my face as if she's looking for differences in me like I have with her.
She's going to be disappointed if she was hoping to find a weakness because in the eighteen months since we last saw each other, I'm only angrier, tougher, stronger, and more hardened to the realities that lie outside of this campus.
There's only one of us who has any kind of weakness here, and only one of us is going to end up broken because of all the mistakes they've made.
The other is getting revenge.
I just wish I knew she was going to be here so I wasn't so blindsided by her.
I continue smiling at her, trying to hide how I really feel.
"It's just like high school again. You're the nerd taking all the notes and I'm—"
"The arrogant, asshole jock intent on failing everything?"
"Ouch, Princess," I say, lifting my hand to cover my heart. "You wound me."
"Fuck off, Kane. I need this class."
"Yeah about that, what happened to—"
"If you're not going to listen, you can walk out of my lecture right now and never return," Professor Richman booms across the auditorium, a ripple of tension following his words.
I hold Letty's eyes for two more seconds before turning toward the front, nodding at the professor who's throwing his hate stare in my direction and pick up my pen, ready to get to work.
"I will not tolerate any more interruptions."
"Hard ass," I mutter to myself, and I soon realize that I was wrong. No one snickers around me, and when I glance up every single person is focused on the front of class. Nope, this is nothing like high school.
I look at Letty once more. Allow myself a few seconds to really take her in and register all the differences in her.
She knows I'm looking, her breathing hitches under my inspection but she doesn't stop what she's doing or turn to look at me again.
I tell myself that I don't care what's happened to her, but I know deep down that I do.