His lips trail down my neck, sending shivers all over.
"I love looking at you," he breathes, brushing the hair off my shoulders. "Will you let me look at you?"
My heart hammers, a wild thing seeking his. "Yes."
So he does. And I feel it. For a long...
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————————————— "he's the time taken up, but there's never enough." —————————————
C A M I L A
Fox's voice breaks through, sounding miles away. "You okay, Cam?"
I suck in the biggest, more embarrassing breath ever and muster the most indifferent shrug I can.
"Caffeine stare," I say, lifting my can to the edge of the table to show them while placing a finger to my lips. "Don't tell."
My eyes dare to shift back to Hoodie—I will call him Scarface now—who seems amused, a small grin playing at the corner of his mouth.
Such beautiful eyes.
"Glad you like them," Scarface says in that low, smooth voice.
I slap a hand to my mouth in horror. That was an inside thought.
Scarface's smirk grows into a half-grin. It transforms his face, softens the harsh lines of his scar, and for a moment, I see nothing else.
"About Madison," Fox says, clearing his throat.
I reluctantly shift my gaze. "Maddie," I correct him. "Are you slow?"
"You know her better than me. You're cool, maybe we could be friends." Fox gestures between us. "And I could be friends with Maddie, too."
Cool? That's kind of flattering.
I take a long sip of my drink, then hide it under the table and sigh. "What makes you think I'd help you, Freckles? Perhaps I shall sabotage you."
I'm joking.
"Please don't? I want to take her out. I just... I don't know what to do to get her to agree. Am I not her type or something?"
I use my pen to pivot my notebook in a circle. He's right. Maddie's type is tall, dark, walking red flags.
I tap my pen against my lips, humming. Maddie's been in a funk lately, sleeping around, crying, doing it again. Playing Cupid with someone who'd be better for her could be my good deed for the semester.
"What's in it for me?" I ask, knowing that I'm seconds away from helping anyway. Maddie deserves a guy like Freckles, someone kinder and interested in medicine like her.
"Money." Fox leans forward on his forearms. "You'll tutor me, help me get closer to Maddie. I genuinely want to know her."
"Then speak to her? Maybe you are slow."
"I've tried. Trust me. It's hard to grab her attention. I'm not, like, all alpha male and shit."
His offer? It's tempting. More than tempting, it might be a lifeline. I have rent renewal soon. Asking Mrs. Bucket for another extension just to have her lecture me for an hour would chip away at my spine—again.
