“Jeni, no.” I finally break away from her hold, forcing her to look me in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t right now.” I can't believe I'm saying this.
“Are you fucking kidding?” Her face turns a dangerous shade of red, her temper hot.
I brush a hand through my wet hair, flustered just as much as she is. “I wish I was.”
“You son of a bitch,” she hisses, pressing both hands on my chest and pushing with every ounce of muscle she has. I stumble back, slipping as I try to regain my stance, but end up slamming my face against the shower faucet.
“Shit,” I curse, trying to find my balance. “The fuck was that for?” I press a hand to my cheek, already feeling the bruise form.
“You know exactly for what, asshole.” She grabs the shower curtain, pulls it open, and immediately grabs the only towel on the hook. She turns and glares at me. I watch as she wraps the towel around her body and storms out.Great.
I close my eyes and brush both hands over my face under the water.What the hell is wrong with me? And why am I letting Viola Fisher get in my damn head?
When I return to the house, there’s a car in the driveway I don’t recognize. I know Viola had her last day of classes today, but her car is here too, so she must’ve come back with someone.
Grabbing my gym bag from the car, I head in and am surprised to see Viola on the couch with another guy. The corner of my lips tilt as I see what a scrawny little shit he is.
“What’s up, V?” I ask in an overly friendly way, setting my bag on the table and grabbing the dude’s attention.
“We’re studying,” she says dryly, not even looking up at me. “Don’t get in the way.”
“You remember this ismyhouse, right? I don’t have to go anywhere.”
“I-We can study another time…” scrawny boy interrupts.
“No, we’re in the middle of a session,” she tells him, ignoring the fact I’m standing right behind her. “Travis won’t be an issue.”
I raise my brow at that. “Not at all.” I grab the remote off the arm of the couch and click the TV on.
She sighs immediately. “Do you have to do that right now?”
“I watch the news every day, Princess.”
“So, go watch it in your room.”
“Go study in yourborrowedroom,” I retort. “I pay rent here.”
“Maybe I should go.” Scrawny boy starts shuffling his books, preparing to stand until Viola grabs his wrist and yanks him back down. Even she is overpowering him with her small frame.
“No,” she demands, her lips pull in a tight line. “Just pretend he isn’t here.”
I scoff.Right.If she were capable of that, we wouldn’t be in this little war.
I busy myself in the kitchen, grabbing a bag of frozen peas, and just because I need a little extra pain reliever, the bottle of tequila.
I sit on the chair adjacent from the couch where Viola and her little study buddy are sitting. She avoids looking at me as she scoots herself closer to him, pressing a hand to his arm.
“So Professor Gable’s study guide is only about half of what he actually puts on his finals,” she explains, leaning over to show him the packet. And by leaning over, she’s actually giving him a VIP look down her shirt. Intentionally, I’m sure, considering they were at least a foot apart when I first walked in. “What we’ll need to focus on is everything else you took notes on during the semester.”
“I don’t have any notes,” he states, and I roll my eyes.Sure, he doesn’t.
“I might have some notecards from his class in my binder. We can go look in my room if you want.” She emphasizes dramatically as she stacks her notebooks on her lap. “Plus, it’ll be less distracting.”
She finally turns and glares at me until she sees my cheek, and then her face drops.
“What happened to you?” Her voice is sincere, worried even, but I don’t take the bait. She leans over to get a better look and cringes. “Jesus.” Her hand reaches out to touch it, but she catches herself and drops it back in her lap.
Her little boy toy looks annoyed, and I use it to my advantage. I look back and forth between them and can see what he’s obviously doing here. He’s not here for his tutor session. He’s probably been eye-fucking her and undressing her in his head since before I arrived. I can’t blame him.