by ERIN BEDFORD
All except me.
I was too busy wiping the drool off my chin and hoping no one snapped a picture. If I didn’t see another image of me on social media, it would be too soon.
As Morison dismissed class, my phone buzzed. I gathered my bag and glanced down at my phone, only to groan.
Callie: Want to tell me why exactly you’re trending?
“Fuck!” I slammed my hand down on the table startling the remaining students. I waved them off and glared down at my phone as I tried to figure out how my bestie could have possibly found out about my new infamy.
Me: I’ll tell you about it later.
“Something upsetting you, Ms. Norman?” Morison tapped his fingers on the tabletop in front of me.
For having a monotone, sleep-inducing voice, he did gain points for calling me by my requested last name and not just assuming I wanted to go by Mancaster. My eyes narrowed at the lingering students who immediately headed for the door the moment I looked their way.
When we were alone, Morison moved to the door and closed it, giving us privacy. “You have become something of a celebrity, it seems, in your brief time here, Ms. Norman.”
I gaped at Morison as he scratched the side of his face and walked toward me. Gone was the monotone voice and in its place was a melt-your-panties English accent that would have had me drooling earlier for a completely different reason.
“Why, uh, how...?” I gaped at him, trying to figure out what the heck just happened.
Morison leaned his elbows on the tall laboratory table in front of us, a sneaky grin on his luscious lips. “I can understand the confusion you must be feeling right now. To clear things up, yes, I always sound like this. The other voice is a ploy to make my students pay attention to my class and not what I look like naked.”
I nodded dumbly. “Completely, understandable.”
“I trust you can keep this secret between the two of us?” He gestured a finger between us with a raised brow.
“Yeah, I mean, yes. Of course. My lips are sealed.” I mimed doing just that, going so far as to lock them and throw away the key.
“Good.” Morison tapped the table with a renewed energy. “So, now that you know my secret, how about you let me in on what is troubling you?”
I sagged in my chair, collapsing my head onto my folded arms, and groaned. “I’m a freaking hashtag.”
“Excuse me?”
I lifted my head when I realized my words had been muffled by the table. “I’m a hashtag. As in people on social media are talking about me and my choice of boyfriends, and I do mean that plurally.” I lowered my lids until they were slits as I dared him to question my morals or call me a slut for my choices.
“Is that all?” Morison smirked, leaning his face on his hand, looking way more interested than he should about a student’s social life. “Well, your life hasn’t been lived if you aren’t the center of some kind of melodrama.”
“But I don’t want to be famous for anything. I just want to do my class work, keep my magic from blowing someone up, and not get bullied for not being a dick.” I made a face and shot daggers as my phone buzzed once more. This time the screen lit up with my grandmother’s number and not the good one.
“Do you need to get that?”
“No.” I sagged in my seat. I knew exactly why she would be calling me. Nothing traveled faster than bad news. The fact that my own mother hadn’t seen it yet surprised me, though she might have and just laughed it off. “I do need to get to my next class though.” I stood from my seat and shoved my phone in my back pocket. “Thanks for listening.”
Morison straightened and followed me to the door. “It was my pleasure. And Max?” My eyes trailed down to the hand on my shoulder and then back up to Morison’s slate-grey eyes. “You’ll keep my secret?”
“Of course.” I nodded, expecting that to be the end of it.
“Good. I also expect next time that you will stay awake at least for half of my class?” He arched a brow, and I flushed with embarrassment. “You even have permission to stare at my ass if you like. I’ve been told it is quite drool-worthy.”
My mouth gaped open as Morison opened the door and ushered me outside. I was still partially in a daze when a hand clamped down on my arm making me jump in place.
“Jumpy?”
My head swiveled so fast, I feared it might fall off. It might have been better if it had since today was just full of fun surprises. The large broad shoulders of the man beside me actually happened to be in the pleasant variety. At least, I knew he wouldn’t talk my ear off about the rumors.
I hoped.
“Aidan. How are you?” My eyes crinkled as I angled my head back to look up at the mountain of a man. His hands, which were as big as my face, were tucked into the pockets of his jeans, his emerald green t-shirt strained against the massive muscles beneath causing the video game character on the front to distort its shape. Azure eyes gleamed at me with curiosity, and a hint of amusement tinged his lips.
“Good. You?”
Those two words alone caused a shiver down my spine, the kind that settled low in between my thighs and made me clear my throat. “I’m okay, all things considered.”
Not waiting for him to figure out what I was talking about, I started toward the library. I’d told Morison I had class, but I wasn’t sure I could handle listening to people whispering about me when they thought the professor wasn’t looking, no matter how interesting Alchemy Through the Ages sounded.
“Do you have class now?”
“No.”
Aidan continued to walk along beside me as if he had nowhere else to be but near me. It was sweet but also kind of creepy especially since he didn’t talk much. Maybe he was shy?
I chewed on my upper lip as I thought of what to say. He liked video games, I could start with that. Except I couldn’t even figure out Tetris, let alone whatever hardcore gaming he was in. I was lucky to recognize the character on his shirt had to do with games.
“Library.”
“Huh?” My eyes shot up from where I had been staring at the ground as we walked. The tile really wasn’t that interesting, but it was better than counting all the eyes staring at me.
“I’m heading to the library.”
“Oh.” Slightly surprised by the number of words he had actually said to me, it took me a moment to find a comprehensible response. “I’m heading there too.”
“I know.”
I stopped and put my hand out, forcing Aidan to stop or run into my arm. “What do you mean, you know? I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.” Suddenly, his showing up and following me made him seem less ‘cute shy guy’ and more ‘stalker about to get hit in the nuts.’
I glared up at him waiting for him to explain himself. Aidan didn’t seem at all bothered. He actually went so far as to raise his brow at me and then took my hand still pressed against his chest into his grasp.
Turning my hand over, his thumb brushed along the lines of my hand causing a tremble to rush through me. I jerked my hand away from him and rubbed it on my pants, trying to force the tingles away.
“I don’t intend to harm you, Max,” Aidan’s voice boomed through the hallway and those lingering stopped in their tracks to watch us.
“Then what do you want?”
“To be by your side.” Aidan peered down at me, the intensity of his gaze making me squirm.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I tapped my foot. “While I am appreciative of your help at the Halloween Mixer, I don’t have any room in my life for a stalker. So, if you don’t mind, go find someone else to blink those pretty blue eyes at.”
Aidan’s lips twitched. “I’m psychic, not a stalker.”
“Psychic?” My eyes widened, and then I leaned toward him and whispered, “Can you read my thoughts?”
The deep chuckle that rumbled through Aidan made my thighs press together tightly. “That would be a telepath. I have precognitive abilities.”
“So, you can see the futu
re?” I squinted at him, my brow scrunching so hard together that it was pinching my skin.
“Small amounts.” Aidan nodded.
“Like where I’m going to be.” I narrowed my eyes at him, not completely reassured that he wasn’t stalking me.
Aidan ducked his head slightly, his cheeks coloring a faint pink. It was strange and yet adorable to see on such a beefy man. “It does have its perks.”
“Like knowing where I’m at all the time?” I twisted on my heel and started toward the library once more. “I’m not sure I like you knowing where I’m at. How do I know you don't see other things? Like when I’m in the shower or changing?”
“I would never.” Aidan caught up with me without much effort. Must be nice to have such long legs. “I wished to see you, but I am not without honor.”
“Honor, huh?” I leaned my head toward him, my eyes rolling up to meet his. “That’s pretty fourteenth century of you, don’t you think?”
Aidan simply smiled, a small quirk of the lips that started those tingles again. To distract myself, I turned and dug into my bag. I spent more time than I needed finding the book I wanted while I hoped Aidan would stop staring at me like he wanted to take me home to his mother.
“Well,” I cleared my throat and pointed a book toward the library doors. “I’m going to head on in, you can join me... you know, if you want to.”
I didn’t wait to see if he would follow. I pushed through the library doors and headed toward the table in the back that I had claimed as my own. Unfortunately, I wasn’t safe from the stares and whispers here either. However, the large shadow casting over me had the majority of them shutting up on the spot.
Sliding into a chair, I flipped open my book. Aidan took the seat across from me, no book or anything else to occupy him. He laced his hands on the table and watched... me.
Shifting in my seat, I tried to ignore him. Since I was missing the Alchemy class, I figured I’d better get the reading in. However, with the exception of some guy named Roger Bacon, a horribly tragic name for an alchemist, I couldn’t make myself focus on the words in front of me.
My head jerked up from my book. I slapped my hands on the table and scowled. “Are you just going to sit there and stare at me? Don’t you have better things to do? Like, look ahead at where I’ll be tomorrow?”
Aidan’s eyes narrowed, but I wasn’t going to be intimidated. I locked eyes with him and did a silent cheer when he looked away first.
“My abilities do not work that way.”
“Well, then please enlighten me.” I waved a hand in his direction, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other.
Instead of explaining his superhero powers that frankly I was finding ridiculous, he simply stared off to the right of my head. What the hell was up with this crap? There were witches and wizards. Potions and spells. This wasn’t some storybook, there had to be a line somewhere, right?
I let out a long audible sigh, dropping my arms to fall beside me as I angled my head back to silently curse at the ceiling. Just as I was about to get back to finding out what kind of sick parent would name their kid Roger Bacon, Aidan spoke.
“Paul Broomstein will be joining us.”
“Huh?” I straightened in my seat and twisted around looking for the younger of the two Broomsteins. While Ian had made sure I remembered him seconds after I arrived on campus, I hadn’t seen or heard from Paul. Not that I was anxiously waiting for his arrival or anything. I’m not that kind of girl. Really, I’m not.
“I think your crystal ball is broken.” I gave Aidan a pointed look, collapsing back in my seat.
Aidan’s face said he was not amused by my snark. Too bad for him. I was hilarious, and there was more where that came from.
“Max.” The sound of Paul’s voice and I was up on my feet. Down, girl. Sit down. Someone smelled of desperation.
I stretched my arms over my head and yawned, turning slightly until I saw Paul. “Paul. Hi. I didn’t see you there.”
Aidan snorted, and I shot him a warning look before taking my seat once more. “Still doesn’t prove anything.”
“What?” Paul asked, sitting next to me at the table.
I shook my head, my eyes lingering on Aidan before I turned to Paul. “Nothing. So, fancy seeing you here.”
“Yeah.” Paul ran a hand through his mahogany hair. just a touch shade lighter than his brothers, his eyes staring down at the table. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. I had a—”
“Teacher’s assistant thing.” I nodded at him. “Yeah, Ian told me you didn’t come home for the holiday.” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice, but I didn’t succeed.
“Right, well, I wasn’t avoiding him or anything. Just I had already signed up for the extra credit before the whole...” He rolled his hand in the air in front of him as he searched for his words.
“I got it.” Clucking my tongue, I glanced over at Aidan who watched with increasing amusement before bumping my foot against Paul’s. “Hey, I’m famous now, you know? And not just for kicking Sabrina’s ass last semester.”
Paul grinned and withdrew his phone from his back pocket. Flipping through the screen, he didn’t show me the picture that I thought he would of Ian and me, but the one of Dale and me in the office. This time the caption this time read, #MancasterWhore strikes again.
I grimaced. “Well, no one can ever say I’m not photogenic.”
“You guys make a cute couple.” Paul inclined his head and put his phone on the table. “Ian too.”
I reached out a hand and touched Paul’s arm. “I’m not sure what you heard, but I’m not just cycling through guys. I genuinely like you and them.” Aidan made a growling kind of sound, and I shot my gaze his way. “Sometimes you, but the point is that I’m not what they are making me out to be.”
Paul placed his hand on top of mine and gave it a squeeze. “I know. Don’t you think I’d know Sabrina’s work anywhere? She’s lashing out for you taking her power, and this is the only way she knows how to fight. Dirty.”
I let out a cross between a laugh and a choking cough. “Yeah, well, she doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. I’m not going to be beaten by some high school teen drama crap. We’re grown adults and can do what we want.”
“Exactly.” Paul grinned, his hand coming out to pinch my chin between his forefinger and thumb. I let him lead me toward him until our lips pressed against one another. This time I wasn’t kissing him, because he was sad and I wanted him to feel better. This time, I was kissing him because I damn well wanted to, everyone else be damned.
“Trouble is coming.” Aidan’s warning was a fraction of a second too late before the Wicked Witch of Winchester Academy herself came thundering into the library.
Chapter 8
Aidan stood from his seat and maneuvered around the table to lean on the corner beside. His move suggested he thought to protect me in some way from Sabrina. However nice the sentiment, I hardly thought could do much to save me. I did that pretty well on my own.
Paul tried to shift closer to me as well, but hurricane Sabrina launched herself between us. She hopped up on the table, forcing us to shift back or get kicked in the face by her three-inch heels. One long tanned leg crossed over the other, her skirt barely covering her backside. How she moved around without flashing anyone must have been some kind of magic, the kind I’d never have.
“I missed you this Christmas,” Sabrina cooed, reaching out a hand to brush Paul’s hair behind his ear. He jerked away at the touch, making her pout. “The holiday wasn’t the same without you this year. Daddy asked about you, you know.”
Shifting uncomfortably, Paul flicked his eyes my direction before answering her. “I was busy.”
Instead of causing Sabrina to throw a fit, she actually smiled. This one promised she had a secret and she wasn’t even a bit sorry to spill it. “I heard about your little assignment over the break, seems your brother had no problem swooping in while you were away.” She sighed d
ramatically, giving me a sly glance. “Just like Ian to take what he wants when no one is looking.”
I bristled and started toward her, but Aidan’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. Shooting him a glare, I jerked my attention back to Sabrina, but Paul had already jumped in for me.
“You don’t know what you are talking about. I suggest you leave well enough alone and mind your own business.” Paul’s voice was firm and held no room for argument, not that it stopped Sabrina.
Throwing her head back so that her long blond hair cascaded over her shoulders – did she practice this crap in the mirror or what? – she met our questioning looks with a vicious grin. “Did you really think I would let some bottom feeder like her make a fool of you and me?” She bumped Paul’s knee with the heel of her shoe. “You deserve so much better than her, someone who will give you their full attention. Not someone who will open her cauldron to just anyone who waves their wand in her direction.”
I rolled my eyes at her analogy and was about to counter her childish quips, but Aidan beat me to it.
“We do not use wands.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I fought against the need to laugh, but the confused expression on Sabrina’s face just did me in. Curling over in my seat as I laughed, I rubbed the back of my hand over my watering eyes. Paul’s lips curled up at the edges as if he wanted to laugh as well but knew better than me to indulge. I, however, did not give a rat’s ass.
“Is he retarded or what?” Sabrina pointed a finger at Aidan, and my laughter died.
Growling, I pushed against Aidan’s hand and stood. I had no doubt he had let me stand up, or I’d be back in that seat so fast, I’d have wood burn on my ass. Placing one hand on the table, I leaned toward Sabrina so that our eyes met. “Don’t ever speak to him again.”
Sabrina’s eyes narrowed, and she smirked. “Or what? You’ll use your puny little powers on me again?” She glanced away from me for a moment, and the curve of her lips widened. “Please do. I’d love nothing more than proof that you do not belong at this school or in our world.”
My head pivoted away from her and toward where she stared. The library’s occupants had stopped their studying and had full on started to observe us. Once more the phones were out and no doubt recording our whole little scene. Snarling in frustration, I whipped my face back to hers.
