Page 28 of Brat Baby (Sugar Life #1, #3)

Emery

Stifling a yawn with the back of my hand, I’m vaguely aware that Derek’s classroom is filling up around me. I continue to drum my fingers on the desk next to my laptop, staring at nothing as my mind chews over all the new information and questions from this morning.

Xavier was in my room while I was sleeping—fact. One I can’t prove yet, but it must have been him. The only alternative is Tray, and there is no fucking way he would have spent money on new textbooks for me. He probably would have stolen all my shit to pawn or trade.

Which makes me think all the odd little things that have been happening are also Xavier. Like when someone packed up all the books on my bed when I fell asleep with them out.

Or my missing purple lace panties. I searched my entire room for them this morning while picking my outfit.

And all the groceries that were in the fridge Sunday afternoon, which Oakley confirmed she hadn’t purchased.

Were they all him too?

Also, do textbooks count as rewards?

Speaking of rewards, another one from Hudson arrived during breakfast this morning. An envelope had been shoved under the dorm room door while Oaks and I were eating, with nothing but my name written on it.

Inside there was a Netflix gift card, loaded with enough cash for a year-long subscription. I hadn’t even known you could get gift cards for the streaming service.

At least this one didn’t have a heart in its design.

“Emery, hey,” a male voice says from behind me as the thunk of a bag hitting the floor reaches me.

I flinch the smallest amount but mask it by turning around with a forced smile on my face. Honestly, if there wasn’t a quiz today, I would have skipped the class and stayed buried beneath my blankets until this hypervigilant state releases its grasp on me.

Instead, here I am, in class, pretending like I’m completely fine, when I am anything but. Yay. “Hey, Will. Are you ready for the quiz?”

He grins and leans a little closer, making it feel like we are in our own little bubble. “Yeah, should be easy. What about you?”

“Same, basically just confirming that we know everything that we say we know, right?”

“Exactly!” Will maintains some pretty serious eye contact. “So, I realize we’ve only had a few classes together, but I was wondering if you happen to have any plans this weekend?”

My stomach yo-yos uncomfortably, and I’m pretty sure my face doesn’t hide my reaction. “Ah, yeah, I do. Why’s that?”

The smile on his face dims the tiniest amount. “My team is throwing a party to welcome all the freshman, and I was hoping you would meet me there.”

I shake my head and force my lips back into a smile. “Sorry, like I said, I have plans. What team are you on?”

His green eyes light up. “Hockey. Are you a fan?”

My mouth takes control of the command center before my brain can stop it. “Nope, sports are so not my thing.”

Well, actually, that isn’t true. I have no real idea if they are or aren’t my thing.

Besides the mandatory PE classes during middle and high school, I have never participated in anything athletic.

Ever. I mean, my parents may have had me in ballet classes or whatever before they died, but I have very few memories of the time before the car accident.

His smile drops, but then he gets a mischievous look on his face. “Maybe you just haven’t had the right person to introduce you to them. Who better than the next highest scorer for the Newton Warriors?”

I laugh. “I have no idea who that is.”

Will freezes for a solid second. “You don’t know who the Warriors are?”

I bite my lip and shake my head.

His eyes almost bulge right out of his head. “Nope, that settles it. Dinner, one night next week. You can’t go to NU and not know who the Warriors are.”

I freeze, unsure how to proceed. Past attempts at turning men down have more often than not resulted in some sort of retaliation. Usually in the form of a raised voice with fucked words like, What, you’ll fuck old fat guys, but you won’t do me?

And on the rare occasion, something a little more physical.

But I remind myself, Will has no idea about my past. I’m just a girl and he is just a jock-type boy. There is absolutely no reason for him to be a dick if I shut him down. “Actually, I’m kind of seeing someone.”

Will’s face goes completely blank as he flops back in his seat, pondering my response. “You said kind of ?”

I nod, heat burning my cheeks. “Yeah, it’s a little complicated at the moment, but we are still trying to make it work.” Lies. Pretty sure, I’m the only one trying to make it work.

He takes a deep breath, then leans forward again, smile back.

“I can work with complicated. Can I just say that the guy is a lucky bastard, and hopefully he figures out how to uncomplicate it. But on the off chance he doesn’t, I want to be at the top of the list of people you update if he fucks it up. ”

Relief washes over me that he took it so well. My face must be doing that stupid thing where my emotions are written all over it, because his smile goes from playboy to gentleman in a flash.

“Friends, still, though, right? Maybe even study partners, depending on the results of this quiz?”

The sudden disappearance of tension has me grinning a little too wide, but I don’t care. He wasn’t an asshole, and honestly, if I didn’t have my daddies to reel back in, I would have taken Will up on his offer for the weekend. “Friends.”

I turn around in my seat, still smiling, only to be slammed with a glare from Derek that makes my insides want to peel away from my bones.

It is only just now becoming apparent that most of the class has already stopped their conversations, with everyone waiting for me to face the front.

Shrinking down into my seat, I try to make myself as small as possible as my pulse thunders in my ears.

Sure, I’d been bratting on Monday, and I’d planned on a little snark today, but what I hadn’t been prepared for was the rage emanating from him right now, without me having done anything. Honestly, it feels a little overboard. Like there is something going on that I’m unaware of.

He can’t seriously be angry because I’m talking to Will, can he?

Clearly, Will can feel it too. He clears his throat and calls out to Derek. “Sorry, Professor King. Emery was just agreeing to be my study partner, depending on the results of the quiz today. I have a feeling I’m going to need the help.”

Derek snaps his gaze to Will, all but glaring at the poor guy, and then he looks away for a few seconds.

The whole class murmurs for a moment before Derek refocuses on the room.

He sends one final dark look my way, like I’m somehow at fault, which has me internally raising my eyebrows, before he launches into his instructions for the quiz.

I think this man is actually jealous of the guy behind me. I almost laugh out loud at the thought of picking Will over Derek.

“There will be silence from this moment forward. Any conversation will result in a failed grade. Please open the student portal and select the Quiz task from our course page. There are three versions of the quiz. They have been assigned randomly. Once everyone has the assessment open, I’ll unlock the test.”

In a slight daze, I open my laptop and follow the instructions until the quiz page is open, and there is a big circle on the screen that says Assessment Pending. The room is silent, except for general movement noises.

Eventually, Derek stops scanning the students, taps a few keys on his laptop, and then a huge countdown timer appears on the screen behind him. He looks directly at me. “No talking to the people around you.”

I have to cover my grin with a hand. He is fucking jealous. A burst of energy shoots through my body so quickly that it’s a fucking mission to keep myself from wiggling in my seat like an overeager puppy.

“You may begin.”

The quiz loads, and the first question appears on my screen, the answer jumping right out at me.

This is fan-fucking-tastic. All I need to do is crush this exam and come up with a way to really be a brat for Derek.

Then he will be mine again. I know it.