Page 10 of Darkened Wings
But in front of me, grunting and groaning, was no boy. No, this was a man. He was dressed in a hoodie and a pair of jeans, along with sneakers that had seen better days.
Somehow, the entire outfit felt like it didn’t belong to him. Maybe it was the chiseled jaw or the fancy watch on his wrist. He simply didn’t seem like a hoodie-and-ripped-jeans kind of guy. In fact, the whole outfit was baggy on him, at least a size or two too large. Plus, the hoodie had a skateboard company logo on the front, and I imagined Mr. Platinum Hair had never gotten on a skateboard, much less shopped at a skateboard shop in his life.
And never intended to.
Then again, I was in a robe and nightgown. What room did I have to judge anyone?
“What the hell? Are you trying to take me out?” he asked, rubbing his fist in circles above his sternum as though my head had caused him physical damage. There was no way. I was the one whose head was throbbing from running into his marble body. “Is anyone else with you?”
“I was not trying to take you out, and no, there’s no one with me.”
He snorted and got to his feet. “What in the hell are you doing sneaking around at this time of the night in your…your…that. You should’ve come with someone if you intended to go out in the night.”
Good grief, had the man not ever seen anyone with their nightgown on? The way he looked? He probably has all manner of women clamoring to show him much more than their robe.
I ignored the part about bringing someone with me. If it wasn’t safe to roam the school at night, where was it safe?
Warmth replaced the chill in my veins, and it carried throughout my body, and suddenly this robe was suffocating me and the air around me was stifling. Tingles ran from the top of my head to my chest, making me shudder and not out of fear. Not even close to fear.
“I could ask you the same thing. What’s a guy doing prowling through the hallways at night?”
Those icy-blue eyes chilled me to the bone as he put the hood up over his hair. “It’s none of your business.”
I put my chin in the air. “Same here.”
I got to my feet without any assistance from the guy, not that I expected anything from any of the people around here, and dusted myself off. Still, I didn’t want to make an enemy. “Look, I was just seeing where the classrooms were so I wouldn’t look like a doofus tomorrow.”
He huffed out a laugh but never smiled. “You’re going to stand out no matter what you do.”
I honestly didn’t know if that was a compliment or a cut-down. It might’ve been both. Ugh, I needed to get to sleep.
Letting out a long breath, I made a move to leave, but he stepped in front of me. My head came right to his chest, but he bent down to where his nose was almost touching mine. “You never saw me here. You saw nothing and no one tonight. Am I making myself clear?”
There was a threat lacing his tone, but my raven felt no fear in response to him.
“Fine. It’s not like I could tell anyone anyway. I don’t even know your name.”
Oh boy. That was a pathetic ploy to get this guy’s name if I ever heard one.
“Good. And get back to your room before something really scary comes around a corner. Trust me. There are much more frightening things around here than me.”
“I can’t imagine,” I quipped back and looked at my schedule. I shook my lamp once again, but nothing happened. It was deader than my crumpled map.
“Gods above, you are a mess. Take this and get back to your room.” He handed me a small flashlight, one that he pulled from the front pocket of his hoodie.
“What about you? Don’t you need it?”
A slight smile played at his face. “I know this place by heart. Remember, you never saw me.”
I nodded but, in my heart, I knew there was no way I could forget seeing him. No way in hell.
Chapter Seven
Somehow, I did make it back to our room and slipped into bed, leaving my nice heavy robe on the foot of the bed again. The bed was piled with comforters, and as fall wound into winter, I could imagine how I’d appreciate them, but for now I kicked a couple down by my robe. I’d been sleeping rough for a while, and warm and cozy would be something to look forward to. This time, I fell right into a deep sleep. Either I’d finally worn myself out, or the whole setup was so comfortable that it fought my racing mind.
But when the sun rose, and a hand was shaking my shoulder, I jerked awake with a start and flailing arms.
“Hey! You almost hit me.” Astra jumped away with a cry. “Tomorrow you will need to get yourself out of bed if you’re going to try to knock me out just for helping you.”
