Page 14 of Give In

I lifted my bag and gave him my full attention. “I work crazy hours, so scheduling things is hard.”

His smile turned forced at my words. “Yeah, that’s totally understandable—”

“I want to, though,” I interrupted, giving him a smile as I touched his arm. “I just work nights, so it’s tricky to find time.”

“Do you have any days off?” he asked, his tone and hazel eyes showing his hopefulness. He was open and unguarded, not bothering to play games.

“I work tonight and tomorrow, but I have Sunday off,” I said as we walked from the room.

Grabbing my arm to shift me out of the doorway, Brooks stopped us in the hall. He kept hold of me as he asked, “How about Sunday? We’ll do an early dinner and movie.”

I hesitated. There were a whole mess of reasons why I should say no. Yet, when I opened my mouth, it wasn’t a denial that popped out.

“Sure,” I said, surprising myself, and Brooks, if his raised brows were any indication.

His face lit up at my agreement.

No mask.

No lies.

No bullshit.

“Awesome. I’ll call you tomorrow to figure out what time.” Leaning down, he pressed his lips to my cheek before starting in the opposite direction. He looked over his shoulder at me and grinned. “See ya.”

Tonia is going to lose her mind when I tell her. She’ll probably start planning the wedding.

With a small smile on my face, I turned and almost ran into Professor Caine.

Literally.

My body buzzed to life at the close contact. Wide-eyed and mouth agape, an involuntary gasp escaped me. I hoped the quiet sound was lost in the chaos of the hallway, but I knew he didn’t miss it.

I faked a smile. “Excuse me.”

“No problem.” He took a step so we were side-by-side, our arms almost touching. That air of danger—the one only I seemed to notice—emanated off him. His voice was quiet and rough as he muttered, “See you later, Miss Wilder.”

My eyes shot to him.

I’d genuinely believed Professor Caine had been done with Sinners. He hadn’t come in the previous Saturday. He’d given me the cash at school that Monday. His point had been made, and I’d been looking forward to getting on with my life.

But then he’d shown up Wednesday.

And Thursday.

And based on his phrasing, I knew, with absolute certainty, he hadn’t been talking about seeing me in class.

“Right,” I mumbled. Ducking my head, I hurried away from the rain cloud threatening to ruin my bright day.

******

I’d been right, of course.

Then again, I’d been wrong.

Very wrong.

Professor Caine had come into Sinners, but he hadn’t taken a seat at the bar.