The Birds & The Bees | S.R.

Ch. 14 | Counting Heartbeats

Summary: Spencer finds out Bunny has been tutoring Kyle. He tells each of them how he feels about it.

Content Warning: Fingering, possessiveness, jealousy, anger, male on male violence, implied/hypothetical sexual assault, threats

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The library was quiet, but still bustling for the time of night. The students were starting to panic about the end of term, and although I never really experienced that particular concern, I remembered witnessing it throughout my time in academia.

It was the same unfortunate phenomenon that had taken my Bunny away from me. While she had been diligent in her studies for most of the semester, I couldn't say the same for our students. Unsurprisingly, her tutoring sessions were far more preferable than my office hours.

I couldn't blame the students too much. After all, I'd wanted to waste the days away with her, too, and I would've taken any excuse that would have allowed me any second of her time.

She was the reason I was in the library, although the stack of books in my hand was the cover story if anyone asked. It wasn't that we were necessarily a secret — I had a very well-drafted e-mail waiting to be sent to Human Resources the second she gave me her blessing — but I also understood that it wasn't the best look for her.

As much as she insisted otherwise, I knew it would be strange for her to have a professor pining for her in front of everyone. I'd already made a bit of a joke out of her by revealing her nickname to the class. I was pleased to realize that it hadn't done anything to taint the name, however. She still responded to its call with a fervent enthusiasm and batted lashes.

She knew what she was doing, too. She was blatantly aware of just how alluring her every move was to me. Each and every time she touched me, her fingers would linger just a little bit longer. Her eyes would, too, begging me for permission to stay. To roam and discover new pieces of ourselves that had remained buried under longing and fears that seemed silly in retrospect.

My Bunny knew the effect she had on me, and I suspect she knew about the others, as well. I wouldn't forget the way she'd broken down my concerns about her virginity with sharp, calculated terms. She was not so innocent as to not realize how highly society would treasure that status, but she was still innocent enough to miss the fact that her virginity was, by far, the least pure aspect of her. That was the most compelling testament to the kind of person she was.

She was talented, brilliant, and so unbelievably, infuriatingly kind.

But above all else, my Bunny was a petty and precocious little thing.

She always knew what she was doing, so imagine my surprise when I finally spotted her through the wide-open door of a study room in the back corner of the library. She had her back to me, but I could recognize that silhouette and style anywhere.

Even when it was half blocked by a rather putrid site of a truly pitiful young boy.

Kyle stood far too close to her, with a wandering hand that found home on her hip after she'd stumbled over his feet. I thought of how manipulative a man must be to know how to trip a girl just to find a way to catch her. How easily someone like that could creep into your mind and make you question your own perception of him.

But more than anything, I thought about the fact that I wanted nothing more than to get him the hell away from her.

I could feel the glass beneath my fingers, which moved with a practiced precision that didn't even require me to look down. I didn't want to miss it in case something even more regrettable happened.