Page 30 of Nine Inch Nasty
August squints at me. “Does he have the proper clearance for this conversation? Has he even been trained? Let me see your certification, astronaut.”
I've literally never thought about what to do in a situation like this.
Delaney to the rescue again. “Oh him? He's okay. He's with me. Promise you, he’s just fine.”
It's at that point that Jackson gallops across the room beyond the doorway, on a broom, pretending it's a hobby horse I guess, yelling, “Yeehaw motherfuckers!” And then screaming when he gets hit by an asteroid, aka a pillow that somebody throws at him, and he launches himself across the room and rolls a few times before lying completely still and staring at the ceiling blankly.
“Delaney, I feel like we should probably call somebody more adult than us to handle this situation. This is... very strange.”
She closes her eyes and shivers, and I’m fascinated when some of her marks get a little glow to them as August deflates, scratches his head, and looks confusedly about him. “Were we talking about something? I'm really sorry; I seem to have forgotten why I came in here.”
“Sex high. I cured it. You're welcome.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Adam calls from the kitchen.
So much for naughty time with Delaney.
To everybody's protest, she puts her cute pajamas back on to eat, and even though I'm still desperately in need of her, the night takes a pleasant turn. After the twins settle down about defending the moon from angry aliens, anyway.
The dinner table is far too small to fit us all, so people are sharing chairs, pulling up weird other things to sit on, passing Delaney around on their laps like she's a hot potato. Then somebody suggests a movie, so we pile onto the couch, decidethe floor is better, and we push the coffee table aside before grabbing everybody's blankets and pillows to settle in.
Growing up as an only child with the parents I did, I’ve never had the kind of lifestyle that let me have friends close enough for sleepovers, so this feels like a novelty. Especially when the dean of my college and one of my professors walk in and join the fray. Don't know how long it's going to take for that not to feel weird.
I think we're all delaying going to bed as long as possible, because we all know that we all have classes tomorrow. That’s something I used to look forward to, but now it’s something that only takes me away from where I truly want to be.
I'm definitely nervous to face my peers in class tomorrow, solely because of how bullied I've been and how nobody will believe that Delaney was meant for me and actually wanted me.
I know I need to work on my self-confidence around her, but when Cory pats my head before they fall asleep, resting their head on my stomach, their feet draped over Adam and hand intertwined with Delaney, and everybody else is mixed in as well, the floor gets pretty damn comfortable.
I fall asleep thinking that maybe I don't have to stress too much about what other people will say to me tomorrow, because I have all these new brother mates to back me up now.
I'm not alone anymore, and I have the affection of an incredible woman to boot. If anything, I know my peers will just be jealous that she picked me, because she could have just as easily made me wait ‘til we graduated, or kept me hidden, or flat out told me she wasn't going to make a move on me. But she has a good heart. And I do think she's going to make me very happy.
I only hope I can contribute to her happiness as well.
Chapter Thirteen
Delaney
Class the next day is just as boring as I remember. Leo has decided to step in as one of my guards, so the twins are taking turns guarding me, spending their other time ensuring the rest of my mates are safe. I don't know what threats they're expecting, but I don't hate the fact that somebody's checking in on them regularly.
I definitely get a bunch of weird stares as I walk around campus, because even though this is a college full of adults, it's also not a huge college. Hemlock Academy is sort of an elite school, so a lot of the people that come here think way too highly of themselves and are way too involved with other people's business.
I knew it was going to be an issue at some point, but I'm kind of over the blatant staring by the time lunchtime hits.
Which is of course exactly when all the unwanted attention kind of makes sense.
I haven't been through the heart of campus today, the courtyard with the attached green people like to study on and need to cross to get to the food hall. It seems one of my mates has been busy.
Zac and I haven’t had a conversation yet about how we were going to handle us being together as dean and student, but I assumed he would tell some members of the staff that he felt needed to know, mainly because he's going to be hanging out in my dorm a hell of a lot and I don't want anybody thinking he's being a creep or something.
We're not doing anything we shouldn't be, and it’s not like you can tell the goddess she chose an inappropriate mate for you.
But I didn't expectthis.
I didn't expect to see the courtyard covered in roses and rose petals, with flameless candles outlining a clear path. And I could be embarrassed by the fact there's a huge banner that's clearly hand painted at the end of all this indulgent display that says, ‘Happy mating, Dean Aspis and Delaney Duncan!’ But instead, it just makes me smile.
The dean in question is sitting underneath the banner with yet another bouquet of flowers and a mini wedding cake on a platter, grinning at me.
