Page 44 of Invisible String
“Nah, we have plans tonight. Don’t we, sunshine?”
Her face heats, and it’s not the sun causing it. His eyes widen as he realizes she’s mine, although it doesn’t entirely feel that way.
“Oh, great titties,” Rainey breathes out. “Yes, we have plans. We have a dinner date.” Her lips go into a straight line.
She wraps her arms around my waist and then lets them drift down to my butt, giving it a good squeeze. She laughs at the firmness of my ass as I flex for her. My gaze stays pinned on Alex.
He swallows a lump in his throat, and his body tenses as his eyes land on me. My six-foot frame towers over him, and my broad shoulders and muscular arms give off an intimidating aura. He gulps audibly, clearly nervous in my presence.
“Okay, well, if you change your mind, you know where?—”
“She won’t need to. She has what she needs right here.” My voice rises, causing him to step back. My hands drop from Rainey’s waist as I take a step forward.
“Is this what you do, professor? Try to lure your students to bed?”
“Max,” Rainey groans.
“You speak Spanish, Max?” Alex asks.
I jut my chin. “I do.”
“Not all students, only her,” he says in Spanish. “Ella está interesada en mí.”
“She has a thing for me,” he says.
It takes one stride to be in his face. “Raineyes mía,” I growl in his face, my fists so close to meeting his. “She’s mine,” I said to him. I tower over him. He steps back and nods.
“Good gracious, this went tits up. Talk about male testosterone,” Rainey drawls.
My gaze is on the guys walking back to their car.
Speaking of tits, I ask, “Did you flash him?” I run my hands through my hair, meeting her eyes, my jaw tight.
“Oh, my gosh, Max. Do you really think I would show my tits to my professor for a good grade? What kind of woman do you think I am?” She turns from me, staring into the lake. Her face sags. Fuck. Rainey has always been smiling, laughing, and just happy. I’ve never seen her like this.
“Rain,” I call out softly. “The only reason I said that is because Lana said it. I thought she was being serious.” I’m not good at this. I don’t know how to comfort someone. “Then, when you said professor and how he looked at you made me think that.”
She turns to face me. “He was never disrespectful to me in class. I think he got the wrong idea when he heard me joke to Lana about showing him my tits for a good grade on my final.”
“It seems like he has, unless you have a thing for him.” Maybe I should feel relieved, but I don’t.
“No, I don’t have a thing for him. I do think he’s a nice guy, though.” Rainey takes two steps toward me. “Are you jealous, Max?” Her fingers brush my cheek.
I close my eyes, calming myself with her touch, which sends sparks all over.
“Of course not. Why would I be?” I fib confidently. “Why should I feel any jealousy?”
Her smile vanishes, and I am filled with shame. How do I voice it? How do I tell her I’m so fucking jealous? I want to claim her, and I want to protect her always. It’s at the tip of my tongue, but I can’t. I can’t keep her. “I was protecting you from him. He’s much older,” I say instead. Her warm hand immediately drops from my face.
“You don’t need to protect me, Max.” She grabs her cover-up from the chair and slips it on. “I could have sworn I saw jealousy,but it was my mistake. Sorry to assume. We’ve gotten close this month. I guess I thought you felt something.” She shakes her head. “You don’t do relationships, or I guess it’s more like you don’t want one, right?”
How do I explain the truth to her? I just can’t.
“Rainey, you mean a lot to me.” That’s the truth. “But you’re right. I don’t want a relationship right now.”
“I understand. I wasn’t asking to be your girlfriend.” She slips her sandals on. “We’re just having summer fun, right?” She smiles like a glowworm.
I’m not sure if it’s a genuine smile. I don’t know why, but something tugs at my heart.
