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“They asked you to dance,” Leo says. “And you said yes?”
I cringe even as I nod.
“Was it fun?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “It was. But it’s totally inappropriate. I’m probably going to get fired or worse.”
Leo shocks me by laughing. He claps me on the shoulder, then leads me out of the psychedelic room and into the hallway where it’s a little quieter. He never lets go of my shoulder.
“Listen, man,” he says, “I’m not saying it’s a smart plan,but the world didn’t end, did it? It seems like it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. What I did is not okay.”
“If you weren’t a TA and you were only here to study, would it be okay?”
“Sure,” I say, “but I’m not only here to study.”
“Not disagreeing. I’m just saying. Maybe you should wait a semester or something. Let the … conflict of interest work itself out. Then see where things stand. It’s not like this is a kid. They’re almost your age.”
“Six years.”
“You make that sound like six decades.”
“It might as well be as long as I’m their TA,” I groan.
Leo squeezes my shoulder, but he looks sympathetic and not reproachful, which is something of a surprise. Part of me wants to try what he suggested. If we wait a semester will there still be something there? Will Avery still be interested? I’d need to be cautious regardless. If I’m working as a TA at all then hooking up with a student is an ethics violation at best, but at least I wouldn’t have that specific student’s grades in my hands.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Leo says. “You need to dance with a stranger tonight.”
I’m not feeling as enthusiastic about that as I was a few moments ago, but I follow Leo anyway. Our drinks are empty, and we leave them on a table along the hall with other empties. Then we head back up the stairs.
We have to pass through that strange red room beforewe reach the front of the establishment. But we hardly make it two steps into the main room before I stop dead and grab Leo by his sleeve. He stops short, confusion knotting his brows when he looks back at me.
“What—”
“It’s them,” I say.
He looks where I’m looking, looks in the direction of the person who has my feet cemented to the floor and my blood running cold. They’ve stopped as well, and a girl who looks as confounded as Leo is cocking her head at them.
I swallow. Avery smiles at me from across the bar. Before I can recover, they’re marching toward me.
“That’s them?” Leo says. “That’s your student who you—”
“Yes,” I cut in before he can say it out loud. “That’s them. Shit.”
I’m frozen with terror. Avery’s eyes are deadset on me. They’re cutting through the crowd on their way to me, and I don’t know what to do.
Before I can decide, Leo shoves me forward.
Chapter Fifteen
Avery
I ONLY MAKE it a step or two into the club when I pull up short.
Mia nearly leaves me behind until I grasp her arm. She squeaks in surprise, then furrows her brows at me.
“Come on, Avery,” she says. “We shouldn’t linger by the door. My friend got us in but we’re supposed to be low-key so we don’t get her in trouble.”
