62

Blaine
I feel off balance after my encounter with Azira. It didn’t exactly go how I’d pictured. I caved and gave her my cell phone number after we had sex, which means I have to speak to her outside of our sexual encounters. Something I’ve been trying to avoid.
My cell phone buzzes.
Azira: What are you up to?
I stow it back into my jacket pocket and push open the door to the staff room. An unsettled feeling clawing at my gut, as I knew she’d start texting me. Instantly, I feel rage slam into me when I see Luca Sidorov is sitting in my spot.
When he spots me, he gives me a smug smirk that only heightens my rage.
“Good afternoon, Professor Luigi.” He stands. “Or should I say Blaine? I must admit, I never imagined the day I’d be your colleague.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Neither did I, considering how much you flaunted the rules while you attended here.”
His smirk widens. “Yes, but unlike most, I didn’t cower in the face of your punishments, and it drove you crazy.” He sits back down, crossing one leg over his knee.
“Get out of my seat,” I demand.
His brow furrows. “I didn’t see a name tag on it.”
I cross my arms over my chest, struggling to comprehend how this asshole is related to Azira. They are so utterly different in every way.
He flaunts the rules, whereas she loves to abide by them.
“I’ve sat in that seat every fucking day I’ve worked here and I’m not going to let a punk like you change that.”
His eyes flash with anger as he stands and approaches. “Who you calling a punk? I’m not a student here anymore, Blaine.”
“I’m well aware of that, but it doesn’t mean I won’t still kick your ass.”
His nostrils flare as he squares up to me, rage brewing in his dark brown eyes. They’re a darker hue than Azira’s.
I fear he’s up for a fight and I’m not one to back down, especially not to some spoiled mobster heir who thinks he’s harder than nails.
The door to the staff room swings open and Archer and Sophia Davidson, one of the other professor’s walk in together.
Sophia’s brow furrows when she sees us both standing close together, fists clenched. “What’s going on in here?”
Arch chuckles. “Looks like Luca is already making enemies.” He claps Luca on the shoulder as he walks toward the coffeemaker on the far wall. “And you’ve picked the worst guy to make an enemy of, Sidorov.”
I glare at the brother of the woman I’ve been fucking, wondering if he intends to hold his ground. It would be foolish in any case to come into a new workplace and immediately be an ass, but I’m not sure Luca gives a shit.
He cracks a smile and claps me on the shoulder. “It’s all fun and games, isn’t it, Bly?”
I clench my jaw. “Don’t call me that.”
“Everyone else calls you, Bly.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t everyone else. It’s Blaine to you.” I march around him and sit down in my usual spot. The seat he had been sitting in when I arrived. “And don’t sit in my seat again.” I crack my knuckles.
Arch laughs. “Oh shit, you sat in Bly’s seat. No wonder he wanted to beat you up.”
Luca turns and glances at Archer. “What is so special about the seat?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing other than the fact that Blaine sits in it and no one else. It’s as simple as that.”
Sophia nods. “I made the rookie mistake of sitting there my first day.” She swallows hard, glancing in my direction, and shudders. “Never again.”
I make a tutting sound. “All I did was tell you not to sit there again. You’d think I’d dragged you out of it by your hair.”
She hugs her arms around herself. “Might as well have.”
“So dramatic.”
“Who is being dramatic?” Oak asks, coming through the door.
“Sophia.” I grab my coffee flask out of my briefcase, which evidently isn’t filled with coffee, but something a little stronger.
Oak eyes it warily, as if he knows exactly what’s in there, but he doesn’t say anything. “Dramatic about what?”
“Her first day when I told her to not to sit in my seat again.” I swig the whiskey. It burns on the way down. “She’s acting like I physically assaulted her.”
Sophia huffs. “I was mentally scarred from that day.”
Oak nods. “I remember. You were pretty intimidating.” His eyes narrow. “Why are you discussing that, anyway?”
I glare at Luca. “Because your math substitute made the same mistake.”
Luca ignores me as he sits in the armchair in the corner, flipping through a newspaper, whistling nonchalantly.
The little punk is asking for it, but I know better than to pick a fight right now, especially with the brother of the girl I’m fucking.
A girl who I corrupted. If he knew the truth, he’d no doubt try to kill me.
“Keep it civil, alright?” Oak says, eyes pinned on me.
I take another swig of whiskey, enjoying the burn as it moves down my throat. “Always.”
He shakes his head and grabs a few things from the fridge before heading out of the staff room without another word, leaving Sophia, Arch, and Luca.
At that point, Elaine Jasper walks in and sits down next to me. “How are you, Blaine?” she asks, as she gets out a sandwich from her bag and starts to eat.
“Fine,” I reply, not bothering to enquire how she is.
“Are you certain?” she pushes.
I glance at her then, noticing the anxious look on her face. “Oak put you up to talking to me, didn’t he?”
She shrugs. “He asked me to assess your mental health.”
“Motherfucker.” I clench my fists. “If he wants to know the state of my mental health, tell him to ask me himself the coward. I’m going to therapy just as he wanted.”
Elaine nods. “Of course.” She takes another large bite out of her sandwich. “So, you’re not going to talk to me, are you?”
“Not about my mental health.” I take another swig of whiskey.
We fall into awkward silence as Sophia and Arch chat at the back, sitting at the dining table with coffee, and Luca smirks at me from his seat.
That boy is asking for a beating, but I control the rage inside of me, knowing that Oak is concerned for where I’m at in my head.
He’s right to be, as I’ve been on edge for a long while now, teetering between staying on the tracks or derailing spectacularly.