Page 59 of Student Seduction

“Jecca?”

Shock stung my face and created a steady buzzing sound in my ears.

“It’s been a while,” he said politely. “You work here too?”

She made a strange face. If I wasn’t mistaken, her left eye twitched. “Iwork here, yes. She’s an intern. Ahigh schoolintern.”

Neither of us missed her insinuation.

He nodded. “Uh, yeah. I teach at her high school. I actually stopped by to take her to a community service project she’s completing for my class.”

Damn, he thought fast on his feet. I was still struggling to locate my tongue.

Her eyes narrowed. Jecca was mean as hell, but she wasn’t stupid. “Just you and her? Do you think that’s wise? I mean, there’s a public transportation system.”

She spoke as if I wasn’t standing there.

“I could give her a ride,” Collin offered. “I was just leaving.”

I wanted to tell him to piss off, hand Jecca the damn brochures and tell her what I did with the rest of my day was none of her business. But I knew that wouldn’t be helpful for anyone. Not my chances of earning the scholarship and not Aiden’s ability to keep his reputation in tact.

“No worries. I can handle it. Several students will be there,” Aiden lied easily. “It’s just not in a great part of town so I wanted to make sure they all had a chaperone.”

She nodded. “Okay then. Emersyn, I guess you’re free to go.”

I stared at her openly.

I knew she knew my name.

“Thanks, Miss Chambliss,” I said in my syrupy sweetest voice. “Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you Tuesday.”

I didn’t spare another glance at her or motormouth Collin.

I smiled at Aiden. “Ready, Mr. Singleton?”

One side of his mouth lifted wryly. “As I’ll ever be.”

He was careful not to touch me all the way to the doors. Once we made it down the street to wear he parked, he exhaled audibly.

“Shit, I didn’t see that coming,” he said, helping me into the Jeep.

“Well you lied beautifully. How do you know her?”

Please don’t say you dating Cruella de Vil. My heart can’t take it.

“She’s from Riverside,” he informed me. “Graduated a year after Axel.”

I nodded, relieved he hadn’t said he dated her. He jogged around and got in on the driver’s side.

“She used to be pretty hot and heavy with one of my brother’s buddies. Guy we call Meat, who’s actually loaded but ditched the family business to work construction. He’s planning to buy the company with Axel when they’ve saved up enough capital. Apparently his dad’s a real prick or something.”

“Meat?” I frowned. Jecca didn’t seem like someone who’d date, much less want to marry, a guy people called Meat.

Aiden smirked at me and I could tell I was missing something. I just didn’t know what it was.

“Elliot Wellington the third, actually.”

“So why do they call him Meat?”