Phoenix

Chapter 4

Unspecified
Essence's POV
Me defeating ginger boy didn't exactly sit well with him. It was only the first day, and I bet he wasn't expecting to get his ass kicked by
'a girl'...

The rest of training went pretty well, I was teamed up with a guy called Mattia who has been attending TRAA for 6 years already, and was supposed to graduate this year. Mattia was really handsome and mature, also very strong... but my eyes kept defying me and wandering off to a specific copper haired guy. Every time I got a peek of him, he was always glaring at me, burning holes through my head, but there was something different about his glare. If I had learned anything from my mother's training, is that the eyes are the windows to one's soul, and that through them we speak what can't be utter by words.

His amber eyes not only held rage and embarrassment, but they shone with longing, interest and curiosity. At least that was what I was able to deduce through the impassive mask concealing his true feelings.

After class was over, the girls had one more course to attend, while I was headed to my room. As I packed my gear and walked to the door along side my friends, Phoenix's voice called me out. His footsteps came closer and closer, and as he reached out for my shoulder, I immediately faced him. My quick reflexes depriving me of feelings his touch, which still lingered on my skin.

Phoenix's POV
_ "Yes... Mr. Roosevelt?" she bats her lashes at me innocently. God. The way these words rolled off of her tongue made my shorts tighten slightly. She may be putting on this pure act, but I could see through it all... I knew the game she was playing. Unfortunately, as much as I would have loved to play along... I had to remain professional... at least for now.

_ "Please, call me Phoenix. Mr. Roosevelt makes me sound like an old man." A genuine grin drew itself upon her luscious lips. "Do you have a second?" I ask. She looks back at her two friends, and nods at them. They both smile at us before leaving along with the rest of the students. We now remained alone in the gym. Even though she was completely still and cool, I could tell by her inadequate blinking that she felt uneasy.

_ "Please don't feel uncomfortable" my hands impulsively moved up her arm in the hopes of comforting her. Goosebumps rise under my fingers, but she remains her sassy self.

_ "Don't flatter yourself." She crosses her arms defensively, her eyebrows arching. I couldn't help but smirk at her stubbornness.

_ "Well my dear student, the average person blinks 15-20 times a minutes. You are blinking far more than that... not to mention how hard you are trying to avoid eye contact... I'd say you are uncomfortable." Her head shoots up and she stares into my eyes.
She takes a step closer to me and whispers in my ear:

_ "Cocky much Phoenix?"

Essence's POV
He simply rolled his eyes at me.

_ "I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier today. You'd think an assassin would have better balance than I do." He chuckles. "I hope we can start over, because it seems like we got off on the wrong foot and I wouldn't want and tension during training." He says, rather smug.

_ "Start over again as in forget about the fact that I totally kicked your ass? You won't get away with it that easy pretty boy." I reply sassily. The moment a cocksure smirk drew itself upon his lips, I realized what I had said.

_ "Pretty ey?" He takes a step closer to me. Only a few inches separated my body from his.
"I went easy on you this time and let you win, but trust me when I say, next time I will show no mercy." His tone was now as quiet as a whisper, his hot breath brushing against my skin.