Secondhand Heart

CHAPTER 4: "You Got Me"

Liz packed her things as slowly as possible but she soon realized that she was still beating Samar to it. She threw her friend a sinister glance, pointing her eyes at the door but she only smiled back at her.

"Are you coming?" Liz asked impatiently.

"No, I need to ask a thing first," Sam winked at her with a broad grin.

Liz was stumped. What else could she do? Stay? Watch Samar hit on Red right in front of her eyes? They were now the only three people left in this classroom and Liz saw in horror that her friend already headed for the front desk. It was about time she admitted her defeat and so Liz scuffled her feet out of the room and along the corridor, hearing Red and Samar laugh from a distance.

No, this wasn't how it was going to go down. Liz turned on her heels and went straight back to the classroom, determined to put an end to their conversation. When she walked through the door she spotted Red smiling at Samar while putting his hand on her shoulder. It was now or never.

"Uhm, Mister Reddington, can I ask you a question about my essay?" Liz blurted out, "I'm having trouble understanding this source you uploaded a few days ago."

Red looked up over Samar's shoulder, the smile never fading from his face.

"Oh, uhm, of course, Miss Keen," he replied.

Samar turned around and Red lead her out of the room, taking his hand off her only when they had reached the corridor.

"I'll see you, Miss Navabi."

I'll see you?

"Miss Keen, why don't you come into my office? I'm afraid I don't have that specific source on me right now but it's on my laptop," he suggested.

Liz caught Samar glaring at her just before she turned around to follow Red into his office. If he knew what she was doing, he didn't show it, so she waited patiently until he had closed the door behind them.

"Okay, Lizzie, what can I really do for you?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and stepped closer. "Do you have a key for your office door?"

Red seemed a little taken aback by this odd question. "Yeah, why?"

"Lock it," she demanded.

"Oh, feeling bossy today?" He raised an eyebrow. When Liz didn't reply he proceeded to do what she had asked.

As soon as the door was locked, Liz approached him until there was no space left between them and pushed him against the back of the wall, pressing an unexpected kiss to his lips.

"Liz, what are you doing?" he mumbled while their mouths still touched.

She pulled away and slightly cocked her head. "Don't ask questions."

"But," Red held her at a distance when she was about to kiss him again, "I would really like to know what brought about this change of heart."

Liz let out a groan, unable to believe him. She knew he wanted her, he was the one who said he would like to see her again. And now that he could have her easily he wanted to talk?

"Does that really matter?" she asked, trying to sound not too annoyed.

"To me it matters. I just want to make sure this is what you want and that you're not going to change your mind again in a few hours," he explained.

"Why? I want you now, isn't that enough?"

"No," Red pushed her gently into the direction of a chair and took a seat next to her, "I don't want to be your little fling. I've had my heart broken and I'm not keen on having another round on this particular carousel."