Page 43 of Power Play

Her gaze moved toward the window.

I didn’t push.

The silence lasted several seconds before she closed her notebook and slid it into her bag.

“Are we doing this again?”

I stacked the books slowly. “You want to?”

“I need to.”

“Different question.”

Charm looked at me.

That softness came back into her expression, and it hit harder after spending the afternoon watching the sharper parts of her emerge.

“Yes,” she said. “I want to.”

My chest tightened in a way I didn’t particularly appreciate.

“Tuesday.”

“You’re free Tuesday?”

“I’m free for six weeks.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“For you?”

“For the general public.”

I smiled and slid my old Wuthering Heights essay into her folder.

Charm looked down. “You’re letting me take this?”

“Don’t lose it.”

“I don’t lose things.”

“You wore slippers to drill practice once after losing your shoes.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Who told you that?”

“Aura.”

“Traitor.”

“She has stories.”

“I have stories about her too.”

“I’ll trade.”

“Absolutely not.”

I stood and gathered the rest of the books while Charm slipped her sunglasses back into her hair.