His lips trail feather-light kisses down the side of my neck, sending shivers all over.
"I love looking at you," he breathes, brushing the hair off my shoulders. "Will you let me look at you?"
My heart hammers, a wild thing seeking his. "Yes."
So he...
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————————————— "he's the time taken up, but there's never enough." —————————————
C A M I L A
Fox's voice breaks through, sounding miles away. "You okay, Cam?"
I suck in the biggest, more embarrassing breath ever and muster the most indifferent shrug I can.
"Caffeine stare," I say, lifting my can to the edge of the table to show them while placing a finger to my lips. "Don't tell."
My eyes dare to shift back to Hoodie—I will call him Scarface now—who seems amused, a small grin playing at the corner of his mouth.
It does things to me. Things I'm pretty sure I've never felt.
Such beautiful eyes.
"Glad you like them," Scarface says in that low, smooth voice.
I slap a hand to my mouth in horror. That was an inside thought.
Scarface laughs a little, a sound that's surprisingly deep and warm, that smirk growing into a grin. It transforms his face, softens the harsh lines of his scar, and for a moment, I see nothing else.
"About Madison," Fox says, clearing his throat.
I reluctantly shift my gaze. "Maddie," I correct him. "Are you slow?"
"You know her better than me. You're cool, maybe we could be friends." Fox gestures between us. "Then I could learn about her from you."
Cool? That's kind of flattering.
I take a long sip of my drink, then hide it under the table and sigh. "What makes you think I'd help you, Freckles? Perhaps I shall sabotage you."
I'm joking.
Horror and hope mix on his face. "Please don't. I want to take her out. I just... I don't know what to do to get her to agree. Am I not her type or something?"
I use my pen to pivot my notebook in a circle. He's right. Maddie's type is tall, dark, walking red flags.
"You're likely laying it on too thick," I tell him. "Maddie eats that kind of vulnerability for breakfast."
His face does something complicated, a mix of hope and dread. "So, you can help me."
I tap my pen against my lips, humming. Maddie's been in a funk lately, sleeping around, crying, doing it again. Playing Cupid with someone who'd be better for her could be my good deed for the semester.
"What's in it for me?" I ask, knowing that I'm seconds away from helping anyway. Maddie deserves a guy like Freckles, someone seemingly kind, someone interested in medicine like her.
"Money." Fox leans forward on his forearms. "You'll tutor me, help me get closer to Maddie. I'm not just trying to have sex with her. Well...a little. But I genuinely want to know her."
