Page 64

His eyes swirl with so many emotions as he stands up and steps forward, I’m captivated by him and everything else fades away.

There’s nothing and no one else here, just me and Corey.

His hands land on my waist, the pads of his fingers burning through my clothes and onto my skin. My whole body buzzes with energy from him touching me and I have to fight to keep my eyes open from the sensations that he evokes.

“You good?” he asks in his gruff voice.

I shiver and nod my head. “Yeah,” I say on a breath, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip as he pulls me closer, every part of my body touching his.

He leans down, bending at the knees and brings his lips to mine. I moan and grip his arms, needing to find something to center myself to.

He presses them gently against mine, once, twice, three times before he pulls away and winks. “Been wanting to do that all day.”

“Ah, come on!” Ty shouts. “We don’t wanna see that.” I look over Corey’s shoulder and see Ty smirking, looks like he’s okay with it.

“Yeah?” Corey turns to Ty as he wraps his arm around my waist. “Now you know how I feel.” He chuckles, walking us back over to them and pulls me down onto his lap when he’s back in his seat.

I sit sideways and let my legs dangle over the side of his, resting my head on his chest.

My heart slows as I sit there and listen to them all talk. My eyes moving over everyone and I get a warm feeling flowing through my veins, knowing that this is where I’m meant to be.

“Assignments to be handed up front,” Thomas says as his eyes drift to mine. Looking down, I put my notepad away and follow the crowd to the front. I want to be mixed in with them because he’ll be less likely to pull me aside like he tried to do last week after the whole Corey incident.

To be honest, he’s starting to creep me out a little. For the last week everywhere I’ve been, he seems to be there too. At first, I just thought it was pure coincidence but I can see him watching me and my spidey sense tells me that it isn’t how a normal person looks at you.

I place my paper on the growing pile and just as I’m about to walk out, he calls my name, “Ava? I need to talk to you.”

I freeze on the spot, knowing there’s only a few people left in the room now. I’m just about to tell him that I can’t stay when I see a figure walking past the windows to the room.

I squint my eyes at it, he looks so familiar but at the same time not familiar at all. My stomach dips when he comes closer and stands in the doorway after the last person has left the room, effectively blocking my exit.

My fingers start tapping away on my thigh, fast and frantic. One, two, three... Four, five, six... Seven, eight, nine...

“Ava,” he slurs, leaning against the door frame. I can practically smell his stench from here. I look down at him, his jeans hang off his legs and are covered in dirt that’s probably years old. His face is covered in a gray matted beard and looks like it hasn’t been washed in a long while.

He runs his hand through his long, greasy, gray hair and my eyes follow the movement, slowly moving down to his vacant eyes.

“No,” I whisper, shaking my head.

“Ava,” his gruff, broken voice says.

&n

bsp; I don’t reply, instead, I turn to face Thomas, trying to make sense of this.

“Ava, I can explain.” He holds his hands up. “There’s more to it-”

“Shut your mouth, boy!” I wince at his loud gruff reply, still watching Thomas.

He shrinks under his stare and I frown, wondering why he’s reacting like that.

“Let me just-” Thomas says, stepping forward.

“Did you not here me, boy?” I turn back to face him, my dad. “You want me to make good on that promise?”

My head swivels between the two of them and Thomas looks away. He huffs out a breath and turns, walking through the door to his office and catching my eyes as he shuts the door.

I beg him with my eyes not to leave me alone with him but he doesn’t listen, he just shuts the door.