Chapter 9
Pizza
There’s something…off…about the new guy’s tatù.” Rae paced in Devon’s study. She had vowed never to mimic someone’s tatù without their permission, but the curiosity of trying to figure out how Kraigan’s worked was killing her.
Devon sat behind his desk, his feet resting on the corner. Putting his hands behind his head, he laughed. “Rae, nothing’s wrong. He’s new. He’s some orphan, and he’s trying to impress the super-girl in his class. Stop being so paranoid. He didn’t do anything weird or eee-vil, right?” His voice dropped dramatically on the word evil.
She folded her arms. “I’m not talking about him. I totally get what it’s like being the newbie. What I don’t get, is his tatù.” Staring at Devon, she couldn’t get the image of his “job-girlfriend” out of her head. Pursing her lips, she forced the issue into a mental drawer, to deal with at a later date. She needed to ignore the entire Anna situation and focus on current stuff. Plus, she thought, grinning, I’ll show Devon, in my own way, that I can make him forget about that girl. If he even still thought about her. The girl was like a thorn in Rae’s side. Speaking of thorns—
Reminded again of Kraigan, she stopped pacing to stare directly into Devon’s eyes. Placing her hands on her hips, she let out an exasperated breath. “You’re right. He didn’t do anything bad. I’d love to see how his tatù works. He’s trying to figure it out on his own, and I promised not to interfere. The guy isn’t bad -- a bit cockier than I expected, but he’s probably just trying to show off.”
“He’s crushin’ on you.”
“No!” Rae completely missed his teasing tone, until after she had shouted. Great! Now I’m over-reacting. “Maybe his camouflage tatù can hide his ability, but I know he’s not interested in me.”
Devon grinned but said nothing, humoring her. She decided to drop what was obviously an argument she couldn’t win, and change subjects. Definitely safer. Besides, I need his help.
“Hey, can you help me with an Oratory assignment?”
“What’s it about?” Devon dropped his feet from the desk and leaned forward.
“The Privy Council.”
“What do you need to know?”
“The president.”
Devon blinked in surprise. “A professor asked you to find out who the president is?”
“Not exactly. It’s a group assignment from Carter class.”
“Carter?” Devon’s eyebrows went up.
“Yeah. I figure it’s bogus. He’s up to something.” She shrugged, tired of the games people felt they needed to play. “He threw in a bonus point: try and find information on past presidents or anything we might be able to figure out about them. The actual assignment is to determine the importance of numbers within the council.”
“Lanford did something similar last year. Never clued in why but it seems pretty similar.” Devon tapped his thumb against the desk. “The number thing’ll be easy enough. Just think about England’s favorite football player when you’re searching for information with your group. That’ll give you a leg up over evil-Kraigan.” He tried to keep his face serious, but the twitching at the corners of his mouth gave him away. Rae found it cute, but exasperating.
“I think you’ve been hanging out with my uncle Argyle.”
“Huh?” Devon looked bewildered. He dropped his feet off the top of the desk.
“My uncle has a habit of speaking in riddles--or as he likes to call them: proverbs of truth.”
“What the heck’s a proverb of truth?”
“Don’t ask.” Rae threw her hands up in the air. The entire previous year had revolved around a proverb her uncle had said to her before dropping her off at the airport to come to Guilder. The sins of the father are the sins of the son, or in this case, daughter. She had spent the entire year trying to prove him wrong. Seeing Devon’s confusion, she figured he needed some sort of explanation. “My uncle likes using little sayings with layers of meaning. They can mean one thing on the surface, but it’s not until you take the time to really pick it apart that you realize the true meaning. It can be really annoying.” It reminded her of Lanford and how she had trusted him so blindly. Every kindness the former dean had showed her had been a calculated move, designed to bring her around to his ultimate goal, world domination. And I fell for it. He dangled a few bits of information about my mother and like a sad little puppy I blindly followed his lead. Grrr— I hate thinking about this.
Wanting a distraction, she walked over to the desk and sat on top of it, her legs straddling the sides of Devon’s chair. Reaching with her feet, she hooked them around the chair, pulling it, and Devon, close against the desk. She loved the feeling of being close to him, and if she was totally honest, there was a slight thrill in the possibility that they might get caught. If they didn’t have to keep their relationship a secret, would she be able to keep her hands off him? Or would they actually be dating?
Devon brought his muscular arms around her legs and let his hands rest on her hips. She smiled down at him, letting her hair fall forward to tease his face.
“Your hair’s so soft.” He closed his eyes and moved his head slightly side-to-side, letting the strands brush against his face.
Rae bent forward and inhaled. He had an intoxicating, musky scent and she loved it. It made her want to taste his skin. Privy Council and Kraigan forgotten, she brought both hands into his hair, letting her fingers scratch lightly against his scalp. She closed her eyes, enjoying the pressure of his warm hands on her sides. As they slid up her rib cage, she quivered with pleasure.
Eyes still shut, she felt him push the chair back to stand. She brought her chin up and licked her lips in anticipation of the kiss. Even knowing it was coming, she still felt the flutter of something inside of her when his soft lips met hers.
He pulled her forward, closer to him. Their lips met and explored each other. She moaned softly. Devon’s fingers stroked a mysterious, hypnotic rhythm on her back. Rae wasn’t sure if his kiss or warm hands intoxicated her more.
A loud pounding on the door interrupted their interlude. They jerked apart, both breathing hard.
“Shit!” Devon wiped his mouth and pushed his chair farther away.
She hopped off the desk and quickly sat down in the vacant chair. Grabbing a book, she flipped it open. With her free hand, she tried fanning the heat from her face and neck.
“Dude, come on. It’s me,” followed by more banging.
They looked at each other and laughed. Julian. Devon rolled his eyes to the ceiling and walked to the door.
He opened it. “What’s up?”
“Just wondering wha—” Julian noticed Rae sitting by the desk. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.” He smirked as he stared at Devon’s mouth and then Rae’s. She brought her fingers to her lips and realized Devon wore some of her lipstick. Her face burned hot enough to toast marshmallows on.
“It’s fine. We were just, uh, studying.” He rubbed his lips with the back of his hand. Devon stood in front of Julian, politely blocking his view of Rae.
Very chivalrous. I’ll have to find a way to thank him later. She grinned.
“No worries. I’ll leave you to get back to your studies.” Julian laughed, punching Devon in the shoulder. “I was thinking you might want to go for pizza or something.”
“Pizza?” Devon’s posture straightened. Now that’s odd, she thought. Mention food and he snaps to attention like a soldier? Hmm—.
“We can go another time. You’re busy.” Julian’s head dropped to the side and he winked at Rae. She suddenly knew with absolute certainty that “pizza” was code for something. Code is only necessary when they’re trying to cut me out. But of what?
Rae jumped out of the chair, eager for the chance to escape, because she had a plan. “You guys go eat. It’s almost curfew for me, anyways.”
“Are you sure?” Devon asked.
She didn’t miss the excitement in his eyes. It only solidified her determination to find out what they were actually doing. “Positive. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She kissed him on the cheek and elbowed Julian lightly in the ribs as she walked by. Let Julian think I’m in a mad dash to get outta here because I’m embarrassed. “Good night, guys. Enjoy the food.”
“Thanks. See you later.” Devon sounded distracted.
She grabbed her backpack by the door and closed it behind her. Out of sight from the boys, she took off running. Using a cheetah tatù, she raced to Aumbry House and up to her dorm room.
Once inside, she dropped her school bag and pulled her clothes off. Not daring to turn on the lights, she opened the large, Oriel window and glanced around. She saw Julian and Devon heading down the path towards Julian’s car in the parking lot. Putting a foot on the window ledge, Rae leaned forward and let herself fall.