“Thanks, this was very thoughtful, but it won’t get you a better grade on your midterm.”
Bailey offered her a wolfish grin. “A guy has to try, right?”
She took the offered cup and sipped though the bitter taste did nothing to ease her stomach.
“So, can I walk you home?”
“Um . . .” Her fingers tapped against the side of her cup.
“I can wait while you grab your stuff.”
She wanted to say yes, to hook her arm through his and listen to him tell her about his day, God how she wanted it, but . . .
“That’s really sweet of you, but I can’t. I still have a few things I need to do here and I wouldn’t want you to wait.” And, I definitely wouldn’t want you to run into Theo.
“I don’t mind. I could even help you out.” Bailey pulled the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside.
With panic rising in her chest, Brie looked up and down the sidewalk before following him into the studio.
“How was your class?”
“Fine.” She set her coffee on the counter and started stacking easels in the corner. “I was helping out and working on the sketch for the mural I’m about to start. The owner wants to jazz up the back wall and asked me to come up with something. It’s supposed to be fun, but I’m struggling to come up with the right idea.” She put her back to him and took a deep breath willing herself to slow down her speech so she wouldn’t sound as wound up as she felt.
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something great, but I understand the pressure. I get that way when I’m writing songs under a deadline. It flows more naturally when I can hang out and let the music come to me.” He grinned, “But, everyone has their own way I guess. So, are they going to pay you to paint the mural?”
She nodded.
“That’s cool.” He carried more easels over and stacked them on top of hers. “It never hurts to help out when you can and make a few extra dollars.”
A strangled laugh escaped her. He had no idea. She dared a glance out the large store front windows half expecting to see the glow of a cigarette, but there was no one there. God, how was she going to get rid of Bailey?
“I heard Jessica was going out with Cohen tomorrow.”
Brie tore her eyes away from the window and smiled. Her life may have been in the cross-hairs, but she wanted Jessica to be happy. “Yeah, she’s pretty excited. I have to admit, I’ve wondered in the past if Cohen was crushing on her. He always seems nervous when she’s around, and there have been more than a few times I’ve caught him glancing her way.”
“Maybe they’ll hit it off.”
“Maybe so.” A pang of envy stabbed at Brie’s heart. She wanted the freedom to go out without worrying over Theo, but she’d lain with a dog and she was going to have to deal with the fleas, or in this particular case, the flea. She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck, tired from two weeks of worrying.
Bailey set down the remaining stands and turned to her. “Allow me.” He slid his thumbs over the tight muscles at the base of her neck kneaded the knots. His fingers were warm and steady as they moved over the top of her spine, adding pressure as he went.
Brie moaned and let her head roll forward. “You really shouldn’t, but that feels so good.”
He continued to ease the tension allowing the tips of his fingers to massage the muscles at the base of her collarbone while working her shoulders with his thumbs.
“This is cute,” he touched the ends of one of the paintbrushes she was using to hold her hair up. A habit she’d developed in high school.
“Oh, yeah, super cute.” She turned until they were face to face and with heat in her cheeks either from his hands or his compliment, though she wasn’t sure which, she pulled the paintbrushes out and let her hair fall around her shoulders. Concerned it was standing up in ten different directions, she ran her hands through her hair a few times to tame it.
He reached out and played with the ends of her hair, letting it fall between his deft fingers. When her eyes locked on his, she found his had changed and his expression had softened. She stopped fidgeting, transfixed by his stare. She’d seen the look before in paintings. It was longing, and her heart recognized it, too. As she stood inches from him, his scent surrounding her, her worries faded into the background.
He raised his hand and ran the back of his fingers down the length of her face. “You’re beautiful.”
She wanted to kiss him, Jesus, how she wanted to feel his mouth on hers again. But instead, she leaned into his hand and smiled. For the first time in two weeks, she felt safe. Bailey rubbed his thumb across her cheek with the softest of strokes, his calloused finger igniting her skin.
Muffled laughter sounded and a quiet thud hit the glass. She jumped away from Bailey with her stomach in her throat and spun toward the window with wide eyes. But, it wasn’t Theo outside. It was only a group of people walking by. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She stalked away from Bailey. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been. That’s what it was. And, who could blame her? Bailey was gorgeous, talented, and rich. He was basically the trifecta of fantasies everywhere. What girl wouldn’t want to be flirted with and complimented? She spun around on her heel and clapped her hands together.
“Well then, I should get back to it.” She started for the door and he followed, his eyes narrowed in confusion. “Thanks again for the coffee.”
“Sure.” He stepped through the doorway and turned, but she shut the door in his face. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you?”
“No,” she shouted through the glass. “I’ll see you in class.”
“Okay, then.”
~ ~ ~
As she trudged home under the light drizzle of rain, Brie’s sullen mood worsened. She’d been careless, and for what? A touch. A look. Was she completely mental? She turned up the sidewalk leading to her front door and then paused to tilt her head back. The rain was picking up and splattering across her cheeks like tiny, cold slaps.
The door to her flat flew open with Jessica standing on the other side. Her eyes were wild as though Brie had been caught after sneaking out.
“Brie, what the hell are you doing?” Her flatmate grabbed the edge of her jacket and yanked her inside. “Seriously, why were you standing outside? It’s freezing.”
Brie blew out a breath and peeled off her jacket and rain boots with slow movements. “I needed the air.”
“That son of a bitch. What happened?”
“That’s the thing, he didn’t show.” Brie collapsed onto the sofa and leaned her head back.
“Didn’t show?”
“No, and I waited.” She glanced at the clock on the microwave. “I waited almost two hours, but there was no sign of Theo.”
“What do you think that’s about?”
She shook her head, her damp hair clawing at her face. “I don’t know, but it’s Theo, so it can’t be good. He’s never not shown, well, I mean, when we were together he rarely showed, but when it comes to getting money, he always manages to make an appearance.”
Exhausted, she let her head fall back again.
“What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? He’ll show up when he shows up I guess. And, when he does . . .” she shrugged. There was nothing she could do now, but wait for the other shoe to drop.
“You know, if you want, we could go into London tomorrow and tool around in the city. Go to a show or something.”
Brie raised her head and smiled. “What about your date with Cohen?”
Jessica’s face reddened.
“No, thanks for the offer, but I want you to go to that match with Cohen and then come home and tell me all about it.”
“I feel bad though. I don’t want you to be alone all day
.”
Brie slid sideways and rested her head on Jessica’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine.” She pushed all thoughts of Theo out of her mind. He wasn’t worth the energy it would take to worry. Her thoughts slid back to the searing look that had been in Bailey’s eyes. She couldn’t deny what was happening between them and she didn’t want to, but at what cost to them both?
Chapter 14
The final few weeks of the semester arrived with a mix of ice and wind. As Brie crossed the campus, the frost covering the grass crunching under her feet, she couldn’t help but notice the sideways looks more than a few people sent her way. She raised a hand and ran it over her hair feeling for anything unusual. A female student passed her on the right and smirked when she caught her eye.
Brie tried to convince herself she was acting paranoid, but when she entered the building a small group of students huddled around a cell phone stopped talking and glanced her way, their eyes lingering a little too long to be innocent. A spark of panic flickered to life. It couldn’t be Theo. She hadn’t heard from him since the night he hadn’t shown to collect his money. He couldn’t exactly be angry she’d shorted him since she’d never had the chance.
She entered her classroom and took the stairs toward the front placing the few students who had already arrived to her back. When their quiet chatter ceased, she did her best to casually check to see if there was a line of toilet paper attached to her shoe, but there was nothing. The small flicker of nerves inside her grew.
Brie flipped on the computer and glanced at her phone. There were six missed calls and several text messages from Jessica, including more than a few laced with emojis and exclamation points. Her stomach dropped through the floor.
Check the internet before class starts.
Call in. Don’t go to class today!
Call me!
This is an EMERGENCY.
Keeping her back to the class and fighting the urge to puke she pressed the Safari button on her phone and checked the top news stories. Her eyes widened when she saw the headline: Member of Survival of the Fittest Spotted in Oxford with New Girlfriend
She blinked. What?
She scrolled through others: Lead Guitarist from SotF Finds New Cure, Honeycutt Living It Up in Oxford, New Celebrity Couple Alert in the Music World—on and on they went as if there was nothing else of any importance going on.
Dizziness washed over her, the room no longer still. She leaned against the table holding the computer for support as she clicked on one of the headlines. There she was with Bailey, his hand touching her face from the night they were at Splash Pad. The night Theo had never shown. Her mind went back through the events of the evening. They’d been close, but hadn’t kissed, but it didn’t matter. The only way the pictures could’ve looked more intimate was if they’d actually been naked.
Her eyes continued to scroll through the story. Maybe they didn’t know who she was? Besides, who was she really? Some little nobody from nowhere England.
The woman pictured is said to be a grad student at The University of Oxford . . . shit. So much for that theory.
Her insides twisted. The whispers behind her intensified. How could this have happened? A quiet gasp escaped her mouth, Theo. He hadn’t been a no-show after all. He’d been there. She shook her head. He’d found a way to get his money without her paying him off. With a fresh wave of panic, she scrolled faster fearing what other pictures might appear. Bailey wasn’t naked with her, but now that his name was attached to hers, would it matter?
God, and after he’d said she was one of the few people who didn’t want anything from him . . . what would he think now? Her skin heated with rage, a fire swirling inside her. It was one thing to threaten to expose her and ruin her career, but to bring Bailey into it. She spun on her heel and tossed her phone into her bag. She would deal with this. Somehow, she would fix this, but first, she needed to keep her focus and lead the class.
She raised her eyes and couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward Bailey’s usual seat on the left side of the room. When she found it empty, paralyzing guilt threatened to stop her from teaching. What must he think? Where was he? She swallowed. No. She couldn’t worry about that now. For the next hour she had to be present. It was her job, at least for the next sixty minutes anyway.
What she needed was a plan of action. She drummed her fingers on the table. After class, she’d make her way to Mr. Catling’s office. Since he was the Acting Head of the School, he was the best place to start. Maybe if she got out in front of the potential scandal, she’d be able to exert some sort of control over the situation.
The whispers in the room became more urgent. She stopped drumming her fingers and her head snapped up. Enough was enough.
“Shall we begin?” Her voice was sharp and cut through the quiet conversations with efficiency. “Right, today we’re going to discuss the last artist from our syllabus. We will then use the remaining minutes of class to discuss your final project, whether it be—”
Laughter interrupted her train of thought and brought class to a screeching halt. “I’m sorry, did you have a question?” Her question was met with silence and more than a few of the students shifted in their chairs. “Right, then, let’s get started.”
~ ~ ~
Bailey thanked the receptionist and took a seat in one of the straight-backed chairs lining the walls. The office was quiet—other students busy in class—where he should’ve been. He set his stack of papers from the course of the semester on the empty seat beside him and stared around the walls. Like most of the older buildings on campus its walls were lined with gold framed paintings. Some included a small plaque at the bottom explaining whose image was captured, while others were unmarked, too well known to require further explanation.
Baily scooted to the edge of his seat, the feeling taking him back to sitting in the principal’s office after pulling off a rather ingenious senior prank. But, unlike finding golf carts parked all over the school roofs, there was nothing funny about why he was there. His impatience to spend time with Brie could’ve cost Brie her job and it was no one’s fault, but his own.
How many times had she told him she couldn’t be around him? How many times had she tried to put space between them? He bit back a curse and eyed the door to his left. Whatever the fallout from his recklessness, he was going to do everything in his power to keep that from happening.
The phone of the assistant’s desk rang and then she caught Bailey’s eye. “Mr. Catling will see you now.”
Bailey stood, collected his things and then pushed through the door separating the waiting area from the Head of the Art School’s office. When he closed the heavy door behind him, he blinked against the light pouring in through the spacious windows offering a panoramic view of the campus. The warm atmosphere was in stark contrast to his current mood.
“Mr. Honeycutt.” The white-haired man seated behind the large mahogany desk rose and held out a hand, pumped Bailey’s arm twice and released. “It’s nice to see you again, although I must admit I’m concerned about the rumors circulating around the school this morning.”
Mr. Catling motioned to one of the smaller chairs facing the desk and took his seat again. “As I’m sure you can recall I had some concerns when you first got accepted here. While your test scores and grades were more than exceptional, I worried what sort of disruptions your presence here might create.”
“Yes, sir.” Bailey nodded, remembering all too well the conversation they’d had at the beginning of term.
“You see, we here at Oxford have a certain reputation to uphold,” Mr. Catling made a couple of half-hearted circles with one of his hands. “I’m sure you can understand that any sort of fraternization between an instructor and her student could potentially tarnish our reputation, and I’m afraid that can’t happen.” His gaze bored into Bailey’s.
; “I understand completely, sir.”
“Now, Mr. Honeycutt, would you like to explain the nature of the relationship you have with Miss Freeman? Because, from where I’m sitting, she has broken the ethical code of this University and in doing so, put me in a rather uncomfortable position. As the rule stands, Miss Freeman must be let go, which is a shame since she’s one of our best. As for your situation, you fail the class and take it again with a different instructor. There can be no question as to whether or not you earned the proper marks.”
Bailey took a moment to weigh the less than stellar verdict. Though he’d expected to endure some manner of retribution, it troubled him to hear Mr. Catling would be forced to fire Brie, regardless. “Sir, let me assure you that Miss Freeman has done nothing to jeopardize the reputation of this school.”
“The images of the two of you say otherwise, Mr. Honeycutt.”
“I understand that, sir, truly, but I assure you nothing has happened beyond my own advances.”
“Forgive me, Mr. Honeycutt, but your assurances do little to convince me that that’s the case. From where I’m sitting, Miss Freeman has let her emotions cloud her better judgement.”
“Forgive me, sir, but that’s not true. You see, I’m the one who asked her out and when she refused, I’m the one who signed up for one of her art classes. At no time did Miss Freeman encourage or return my feelings.”
He waited for the man to say something, but he didn’t. Mr. Catling remained silent, his fingers steepled together, an unconvinced expression on his face.
“Here,” Bailey reached for the stack of papers he’d brought with him and placed them on the desk between the two of them. “This is every paper, quiz, and exam I’ve completed in Art History. I know you’re a busy man, but if you would take the time to check over the work I’ve done, I think you’ll see that I’ve earned the grades I’ve received. It would be beneath Miss Freeman’s character to show favoritism.”
A Light in the Dark_Survival of the Fittest Page 11
