Azira
It’s hard to believe how fast Spring Break went, as I open my locker and pull out my books for Anatomy class. My stomach is a mess of nerves because I’m about to see Blaine for the first time in two weeks, and I’m angry with him, even though I know I don’t have any right to be.
He made it clear before anything started between us that this was sex only. I shouldn’t have hoped that he might have changed his mind and text me or called me.
I jump as someone places their hands on my shoulders suddenly from behind. “Have you heard who the new math professor is?” Nat asks, smirking at me.
I shake my head. “No, I haven’t. Who is it?”
Her expression turns a little concerned. “You’re going to flip out.”
“Who is it?”
“Your brother, Luca.”
“What?” I ask, shaking my head. “Impossible. If my brother was coming to work here after spring break, he would have told me.”
Nat arches a brow. “Then who is that?” She nods down the corridor and my stomach dips when I see Luca walking down the corridor in a smart suit.
“Motherfucker,” I mutter.
He notices me and smirks. “Hey little sis.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hiss.
“That’s no way to speak to a professor, is it?”
“You don’t have any qualifications to teach here, Luca. What the hell?”
“Oak reached out to me as they’re getting desperate for someone to cover math.” He shrugs. “I said I’ll give it a go. I was one of the best math geniuses ever to come through SA.”
This can’t be happening.
For one, with Luca hanging around, it will make what’s going on with Blaine much more difficult. If Luca were to catch us, he’d kill him and send me straight back home. And for two, it’s just so God damn embarrassing having my brother here teaching.
“What about the war in Chicago?” I ask.
He shrugs. “If Massimo needs me, he’ll call on me. I’m not a prisoner here. And the weekends I’ll spend back in Chicago.”
“This is insane.” I shake my head. “What the hell do Massimo and Leo think of this?”
He arches a brow. “Like they have a say on what I do, Azira.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“They think I’m wasting my time, but I don’t really give a shit.” He runs a hand across the back of his neck. “It’s refreshing to get away from the city for a while.”
I sigh heavily. “You’re trying to ruin my life.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic. You’ve only got a few more months until you graduate SA, anyway.”
That reminder makes my stomach dip, as I know that once I graduate, everything with Blaine will end. Three weeks I spent back in Chicago for Spring Break and I didn’t hear one word from him. I know he’s trying to make a point. Clarify that this is just no-strings attached fun, but unfortunately I was attached to the man before he ever fucked me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were teaching here?” I shake my head. “Hell, we could have come back together, for fuck’s sake.”
Luca smirks. “And miss the look on your face when you realized? I don’t think so.”
I punch him in the shoulder. “Asshole.”
“Careful Azira, or I’ll send you to Luigi.”
I clench my jaw as heat slams into me, as he does not know what that truly means. If he did, he’d never send me to him. “I can’t believe this.”
Nat laughs. “While it’s fun watching you two bicker, we’re going to be late for torture.”
“Oh my favorite,” Luca says, smirking. “Torture is such a fun class. I’d love to teach it, but math will have to do for now.”
I shake my head. “I officially hate you.”
He shrugs. “You’ll get over it.”
I grab my bag out of my locker and slam it shut before charging down the hall away from him. Luca can be a real asshole, but this is a new low.
“Wait up!” Nat calls as she chases after me down the corridor.
“Sorry, I’m just so mad at him.”
She laughs. “Come on, it’s not that bad.”
I glare at her. “Say that to me when your brother becomes a teacher at the academy.”
“That would never happen.”
“Exactly. But could you imagine if it did?”
She shudders. “Not really.”
“I can’t have Luca hanging around. He’s a nightmare.”
Nat smiles. “I always liked him. He’s fun.”
I grind my teeth as I get a feeling a lot of the students will like Luca. He’s always been a bit of a clown, which is why I can’t see him being a professor. He takes nothing seriously enough.
“Whatever.” I glance at my watch and hurry my steps. “We’re going to be late if we don’t move it.” I’m eager to get to Blaine’s class on time, as the last thing I need is for him to punish me on the first day back.
And yet even while I’m mad at him, I can’t help the butterflies that flutter to life in my gut and the lightheaded feeling spreading as I get closer to his classroom. It’s pathetic.