Page 35 of Afterglow
The words taste sour as they leave my tongue. I don’t like lying but I also don’t want to burden Austin with every problem in my life. I handled it before, I can do it again.
Right?
Chapter 16
Jazmine Allen
Three weeks.
That is how long it took for us to fight. Personally, I think that is a new record for Theodore and I. Our playful banter—mainly his endless flirting—was still happening but conflict was at a minimum.
Enter the thesis paper.
“You’re not writing the paper by yourself,” Theodore grits.
He acts as if I will take his name off the project. “You’re still going to getcredit,”
Theodore shakes his head. “No, stop being a control freak. The whole point of project is to create a partnership,”
Fuck him. Do I love to be in charge all the time? Sure. Does everything I do need to be perfect? Yes.
Okay, maybe Theodore has a point but he won't hear that from me.
“I’m not a control freak,”
Theodore barks out a laugh. “You’re lying. We should both take different parts of the thesis paper and once we combine it, then we can make sure everything flows.”
My teeth grind against each other. He is impossible. Any other person would be happy not to do any of the work. I suck in a deep breath, waiting for my blood to lower in heat. Unfortunately, snapping at Theodore won’t get me my way. Trust me, I tried it before.
“Fine. But we need to decide on a date to complete the subject interview,”
We are a week into October, meaning our time is running out. The due date is the nineteenth of November, which will sneak up on us if we don’t plan.
“Next Thursday. We can do an extra session on Wednesday to collate questions and create a scaffold for the paper,”
“Okay, that will work.”
Theodore smirks. “See Princess, we can play nice.”
I glare at him, eyebrows scrunched and lips pursed. “Why would we do that? Besides, being mean to you brings me pleasure."
Theodore’s tongue darts across his lips, eyes darkening. Is it a good idea to tease him? No. But it has recently become one of my favourite pastimes.
"My tongue is well acquainted with pleasure if that's what you want, Princess?"
Fire scorches through my veins and for a moment, air doesn’t reach my lungs. We are in dangerous territory now. The space between us is charged with electricity, one rogue spark will cause an inferno. Despite the forced proximity, I’ve been able to suppress my attraction to Theodore.
But now, inappropriate thoughts are pulling me closer to the edge of a cliff where the smallest step will drag me into Theodore’s orbit without an escape.
My eyes never waver from Theodore's gaze. A shiver glides down my spine as flames build in my core, causing my body to flush. The ache in my core is begging me to reach out to Theodore—to touch him, taste him.
Fuck. I need to escape these walls. Otherwise, tomorrow morning my gut will churn with regret and anxiety. Time drags on, the tension never breaking.
My heart leaps into my throat as my ringtone blares, echoing off the walls of Theodore's bedroom. My hands shake as I pull my phone from the back pocket of my jeans.
A ragged sigh escapes from my mouth. “It’s Jay,”
I'm breathless as I answer. Theodore's eyes dim, the fog of lust seemingly disappears. The call is short with Jayden reminding me about our gym session. Fuck. I completely forgot we had organised to do that.
