Page 44 of The Surprise Play

I tap my fingers together, waiting for Satch to come back. She’ll probably want to leave right away, especially if her skirt has gotten caught in the crossfire, so to speak.

Pulling out my phone, I jump up from the booth and wander over to the counter to pay. I’m kind of bummed out that our session is over already. I really want to get this essay done. It’s due tomorrow, and we’ve still got to finish the third paragraph and do the conclusion.

Ugh. I hate conclusions.

And then we’ve got all the editing and final proofing to go. Satch mentioned shuffling some stuff around and then maybe cutting a few bits here and there.

I know, right? Cutting! I’m usually stressed about trying to get to the minimum word count, and now she’s talking about how we havetoo muchto work with.

What the actual fuck?

It makes me want to belt out a triumphant laugh.

This Captain Ahab guy has given me so much to work with, and Satch keeps asking me the best questions. She makes me look at things from a different perspective, and the answers just pop into my head.

Unbelievable.

“Hey, Wily.”

I spin and spot a girl behind me. She looks really familiar, but it takes me a second to remember her name.

“Jade.” She points at herself.

“I remember,” I assure her, and I can’t tell if she believes me or not. “You’re in my finance class. Nice to see you again.”

“You too.” She brushes her fingers through her silky hair, and I check out those shiny locks, then force my gaze not to wander down the rest of her body.

From memory, she’s slight with petite curves that she obviously tries to accentuate as much as she can.

“So…” She looks around, her glossy lips rising into a hopeful smirk. “You here alone?”

“No, I’ve just been working with my tutor.” I point to the booth Satch and I were sitting in before my eyes dart toward the bathroom sign.

I wonder if I should go check on her.

But she probably wants her privacy if she’s dealing with… whatever it is she’s dealing with.

My eyebrows pinch together, but Jade distracts mewith a hand on my arm. “What’s your tutor helping you with?”

“Just a novel analysis essay.Moby Dick,” I murmur.

She hisses. “I hated that book in school.”

I’m about to agree with her, but for some reason, I tip my head and say, “It’s not so bad. That Captain Ahab’s an interesting dude.”

What the fuck did I just say?

Are these words seriously coming out of my mouth?

Jade titters, her right shoulder hitching. “If you say so.” She brushes her teeth across her lower lip, and it’s hard not to notice how full and pink her mouth is.

I bet it tastes delicious.

Her lips curl into a sultry smile and I blink, forcing my eyes away. There I go again, turning her into nothing but a body.

Looking into her eyes, I go for a friendly smile but find her outright hunger kind of unnerving.

Seriously?