Page 46 of Burn Bright
Ben heard. “ThankCobaltsfor Cobalts, actually.” He says it pretty jokingly.
“Thanks for the correction, man. I forgot you’re gods among us mortal humans.” The sarcasm drips from Xander. He smears a hand down his face, then eyes the exit.
“We’re ceasing fire.” I reread the syllabus, panicking on too many accounts. “I really don’t need to take any stray bullets.”
Xander lets out a laugh. “My aim is terrible, so your worry is valid.” He glues the back of his skull to the wall again, staring straight ahead with reddening eyes.
Ben looks down to me, then back up to his cousin. He seems worried about him. I try to concentrate on the potential presentation that we’ll need to deliver to over a hundred students and not how I’m sitting between two insanely hot guys, notably a Hale and a Cobalt, and a potential feud I didn’t even know existed until ten minutes ago.
“Hey, on the positive,” Ben whispers to me, “if the professor doesn’t own a computer, which seems likely, you can probably just get all your information from Wikipedia for the essays.”
I raise my brows. “You’re already plotting to cheat?”
Xander also makes a face like Ben has morphed into an unknown creature. I am getting the sense Ben has never advertised his duplicitous academic habits.
“Whatever helps the hives, Friend,” Ben says.
“Cheating will probably cause stomach ulcers.”
“We can’t have that. Tell your stomach to stay out of it.”
I almost smile. “My stomach is a nosy bitch.”
I half-expect him to drop his head and speak to my belly button ring, but he seems highly aware Xander is beside me.
We both go quiet when the professor instructs everyone to settle down. The next half hour goes by painstakingly slow as Wellington draws out explaining the topics for the semester.
When class ends, Xander is a rocket. He says a quick, “Bye, Harriet,” then exits before most students are even on their feet.
Ben watches Xander go while we gather up our things. By the tension in his face, I can tell that interaction bothered him. He’s half-focused on returning my pen to me but mostly peering at the door that Xander disappears through.
Leaving the auditorium, we head down the black-and-white checkered marble hallway. The arched ceilings and intricate beam work remind me how some rich architect built MVU back in the day to resemble European cathedrals. Nearly every building has stained glass windows and gargoyle turrets.
We step foot outside together, and the sun beats on the grassy quad where students sprawl out with their textbooks and friends. New York high-rises jut in the background, reminding me we’re actuallyinthe city, but I’m digging the secluded collegiate feel of MVU’s campus.
“Sorry back there,” I say fast, needing to get this off my chest. “I didn’t mean to bail on you for Xander. I just?—”
“You saw a guy who needed an assist, and you came in with the save. Nothing to be sorry about.” He skims me up and down. “You’ll be a great doctor someday, petit oiseau.”
It lifts the weight off my body and goes further by filling my heart. It’s a total head-rush. His confidence really is a thing of beauty. “I know you’re calling melittle bird, but the correct nickname based on what happened would belittle bird shit.”
“Merde de petit oiseau?” He laughs, then says a much longer phrase in French.
I’m completely stumped, but my cheeks are on fire. “Is this going to be a Google translate situation?” I ask him.
His grin is infectious. “I said there’s nothing shitty about you.” His translation dives deeper into me.
I chew the inside of my cheek, feeling my smile reaching uncharted levels.
“Where are you off to next?” Ben asks after gulping some water.
I pull up my schedule on my phone. “I’m meeting with my honors advisor,” I say, “over on…north campus.”
“We are on north campus,” he says into a smile.
“Lucky me, then.” I hike the strap up to my falling backpack. “Where are you headed?”
He holds up his phone for me to see.Twenty-two missed texts.He must have kept it on silent because I never heard it go off in class. “My brothers,” he explains. “They’re relentless.”
