Page 61 of Vexatious Queen

“Yes…can I help you,” he asked cheekily, reaching out and grabbing my hand on the desk.

“How’s your dad doing?”

He sat up straight and looked toward Mr. Sharpe.

With only a few minutes left in our psychology class and the lesson complete, our teacher had done his best to forget that anyone was still here.

Blake lifted his shoulders and dropped them.

“He’s home, and he’ll be alright as long as he doesn’t tell James to leave again. If he does, Theo may actually kill him. He was furious. He kept it in check in front of Dad, but James got an earful.”

It gave me hope that Blake was able to make a joke. His eyes held so much sadness, and all I wanted to do was take it away.

“Do you need anything? I want to help, but don’t know what to do.”

Holding his hand tighter, I kissed his knuckles.

“Can you spend the night in with Myles and me?”

“Done,” I said with a big smile.

Blake ran his thumb over my fingers.

“Did Myles tell you what I did?”

My stomach dropped, and I shook my head. I shouldn’t be expecting the worst, but the way things had been going lately, I prepared myself for it.

Blake leaned in close to my ear.

“I kissed him.”

My mouth dropped open as he pulled back, and I was the one glitching this time.

“Say something. I promised no secrets, so I had to tell you, but I’ve been dreading it.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked. Is this something you’ve thought about? Do you want something different?”

Blake’s eyes grew wide as he shook his head.

“No, it wasn’t like that. It’s not like that. It was at the hospital, and I had a panic attack. It just sort of happened. Myles was so Myles. He took it all in stride, but I really thought that I had ruined our friendship there for a second.” Blake scooted closer. “And no, I don’t want anything different.”

“I mean, if you two want to add that to our…ever-evolving dynamic…” I grinned. “I hope you know that I’m good with it. You just totally caught me off guard.”

Blake opened his mouth, but the bell rang, making me jump.

“Mr. O’Brien and Ms. Davies, please come up to the front for a minute,” Mr. Sharpe called over the noise.

I really needed to decide on my last name before the year was out.

We quickly grabbed our bags and walked up to the front as Mr. Sharpe packed his leather briefcase. In his typical, dramatic way, Sharpe waited until the room was empty, leaving the two of us standing in awkward silence.

“Why is it that I’m hearing from Mr. Romanovich that you’re missing TA sessions for AP Foreign Language? I put you forward for the position and you’re hurting my reputation.”

Blake stood there awkwardly when I glanced at him.

“I volunteered to TA while you were away and have been helping in this class here and there,” he said in explanation. I had no idea he’d taken on so much in addition to his tutoring. He turned to Mr. Sharpe. “I’m sorry, I’ll speak to Mr. Romanovich about my absences.”

“You better.” Mr. Sharpe drummed his fingers on his briefcase. “You two do realize that being a TA is not a part-time responsibility? Ren is not yet back to full speed, and you, Mr. O’Brien, have issues with attendance.”