Page 13 of Devil's Kiss
The immediate furrow between Derek’s brows and the fierce scowl that twisted his lips conveyed quite clearly that he wasn’t happy that their private little interlude was being observed.
Well…tough shit.Jordan had no reason to feel bad or even guilty. He was allowed to be there in the corridor. Hell, he was supposed to be there. He was the damn professor.
Mustering up his nerve, and he had plenty when provoked, Jordan straightened his shoulders, knowing he didn’t even come close to these guys’ heights, and sauntered down the hall.
Deciding he would stick it to Derek in the mostI don’t care if you’re holding hands, kissing, or making out with your friendway he could manage, Jordan paused when he got in line with them and said cheerily, “Good morning, boys,” then pulled open the door with extra flourish and reminded them, “while usually I’d be the one on the sidelines wondering what was about to happen next here, I’m already running late, which means you are too. So don’t linger out here long. You don’t want all the seats to be taken. And I know how close you like to sit to one another.”
Their mouths fell open, and as Derek pushed off the wall as if to correct or confront him, Daniel touched his shoulder in aleave it alonegesture.
Jordan flashed them a grin then, and stepped into the classroom, letting the door fall shut behind him.
There, let him make ofthatwhatever he will.
“WHAT THE HELL was that about?”Finn asked, laughing as the two of them stared at the door.
“Who knows,” Derek said, racking his brain to work out what the hell was going on with Devaney—but nope. He was coming up with nothing.
Ever since their first and only discussion, he’d sat in the back of the guy’s classroom, kept his head down and his mouth shut. He’d also managed to get pretty decent grades on his essays, so he had no idea what the guy’s deal was.
One thing was for sure: the man knew how to make an entrance.Christ.
“I don’t know, something about you sure pushes his buttons. Did you see how pissy he was under that poshGood morning, boys.He looked like he wanted to claw your face off.” Finn laughed again.
“Posh, that’s a good word for him,” Derek said. “Loud and in your face. And that perfectly styled hair and those clothes? They look like they cost more than my entire fucking wardrobe.”
“I know, right. But you have to admit, he looks damn good. Bet he scores big time when he hits the clubs,” Finn said, nodding as though he were onto something. “I was looking at the faculty website the other day?—”
“Why?”
“I…I just was.”
“Okay,” Derek drawled, feeling as though he were missing something there, but let it go.
“And did you know he’s the second youngest professor to ever be appointed a position in the US?”
“Funnily enough, no. I didn’t know that.”
“I also Googled him because that’s pretty crazy, right. He’s a genius or some shit. Can you believe that? And his family is super rich. Like, I don’t know, Midas rich.”
“What about his dick size, was that on there too?” Derek deadpanned. But really, he was kind of curious.
“Fuck you. I just thought it was interesting, that’s all.”
“Yeah? Huh. Clearly our opinions vary on what’s interesting and what’s not. Nerd.”
“Okay. I don’t think he’sthatinteresting.”
“So thenwhyare we still talking about Posh Spice?”
That made Finn just about double over with laughter. “Posh Spice. Fucking love it. Bet that’dreallypiss him off. Anyway, what was I talking about again?” Finn asked, then he pointed at Derek. “That’s right. Bianca’s tonight. Why don’t we go? She asked me the other day if we wanted to come to the bonfire, and I was going to say no. But I think you could do with it. Plus, I want to talk to you about something.”
Derek grumbled a little, but in the end agreed.What the hell.Maybe it would do him some good to be around kids who were hanging out with the single-minded goal of drinking themselves into a state where they could find someone passable to make out with. Who knows, maybe he’d find some guy who’d make his dick twitch and be able to forget his jacked-up life for two seconds. He could get on board with that.
A couple of nights ago his father had been ticketed for public intoxication and brought home in the back of a squad car. His older brother Alan had been passed out on the couch when the cops arrived. So who had had to deal with all the nosy neighbors standing on their balconies staring at the flashing red and blue lights at 3 a.m.?Yeah, lucky fucking me.The only saving grace was that his father had stumbled into his bedroom, passed out, and Derek had been gone by the time he’d awoken the next morning.
Pushing the disgust and pity on the neighbors’ faces from his mind, Derek followed Daniel inside their classroom and snuck a quick look toward the front of the room and the “genius” sorting through his mess of papers at his podium.
Devaney had to be the most unorganized person on the planet. Derek thought it was a miracle he managed to teach a university-level class considering the state of his teaching materials, but teach it he did.