Page 34 of Zodiac Hybrids

Linda’s cheeks reddened, and she smiled to herself. The reaction had a sort of innocence and sweetness that made me feel bad for finding her so annoying during class. Even girls who have all the looks and confidence can get flustered, I guess.

I zoned out as he continued going on and on about the good qualities and romantic entanglements of Aquarius, and I glanced at the clock every now and again. I should like this class way more than I do, but… but watching Adrian flirt with other girls still wasn’t on my hobby list.

“Does everyone know how to swim?” The question registered in my mind, and I forced myself to pay attention again. Lo and behold, the professor’s eyes were subtly on me, despite angling his head towards another student. It was as if he was waiting for me, specifically, to indicate some sort of answer to that question.

I shook my head, and he tipped his chin only once.

“You don’t?” Marcus whispered at a volume only I could hear, as the rest of the class answered aloud.

“Not really. At best, I can doggy paddle well enough to not drown in a static pool. Most the time.”

Marcus moistened his lips with his tongue, then said nothing further.

Now I was starting to get nervous.

"Well, even though the Aquarius is, indeed, an air sign, it’s a good time to learn before we head out on our first club outing of the year. If you’ve read the schedule, you probably already know that the Astrology Club takes several star gazing trips each year. We’ll be making our way out to the countryside more and more for the darker night sky, especially as the weather starts to warm up, but since it’s still a bit cold in February, I’d like to start us out with a trip to a hot springs, up in the Veloce Mountains.”

Everyone else sounded elated and thrilled, while I exhaled. There was no actual swimming required at a hot springs. He had me all anxious for nothing. Here I was thinking maybe incubus developed drowning kinks when they were mixed with water bearers, but sounds more like they just like hot baths. Which—who doesn’t? I mean, a relaxing soak in the mountains wasn’t exactly a miserable weekend.

“The star gazing is stupendous once you get far enough from the city, and while the constellation of Aquarius isn’t visible in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year, I look forward to highlighting the constellations that are.”

With the conclusion of the lecture, the class became more of a social hour for the last five minutes or so, with everyone excited and already talking about what swimsuit they wanted to pack. I didn’t even think to bring a swimsuit in my luggage, considering I didn’t own one. I’d never felt particularly compelled to swim in the cold, dirty lakes back home at any point in my adult life. I guess I’d have to go shopping.

I turned to Marcus, who had started packing up without enthusiasm or any snide interruptions for once.

“Have you ever been up there? I mean, since you grew up in the area and all.” I asked, wanting to feel like I had a friend in class too.

“I used to sneak in after hours every chance I got.” He confirmed with a smile. “It’s gorgeous up there. You’ll love it. I can’t wait to show you around.”

“Is it pretty desolate?”

“You won’t have great cell service, but the resort is pretty all inclusive. No need to pack much of anything. If you need a swimsuit or a robe or anything, they’ll have them in their shop.” His enthusiasm surprised me, and as always, he managed to know exactly what I was thinking without having to ask. If anything, he was just further proof that astrology was bullshit, considering how obviously in tune and compatible we were despite having opposing elements, while the professor and I were a polarizing mess. “Oh, also…” He trailed off, and if I didn’t know better, I almost thought he was blushing for once.

“What is it?” Now I had to know.

“If it’s not too forward, do you want to share a room? We don’t have to share a bed or anything. I’d just rather be with someone I actually know if I’m going to be staying overnight in a hotel room.”

“O-oh, that’s…” My whole body must have been red, just imagining walking into a private room with Marcus on a hot springs getaway after star gazing all night. It hadn’t occurred to me that we’d be staying overnight, which was now incredibly obvious in hindsight.

Before I could finish my thought, Professor Karras got the class’s attention one more time before we were dismissed. “The club budget will only cover enough rooms for each of you to share, so for the sake of keeping it school appropriate and professional, let’s avoid mixing with your preferred gender.” He said with a playful wink. Why did it feel like that was entirely directed at us? Maybe because there were literally only two guys in the class other than Marcus, and those guys were currently talking to each other, while the girls were all talking to other girls.

Somehow, I was starting to feel like his teacherly persona was entirely fabricated, because these cute little upbeat smiles and tongue in cheek nudges were nothing like the psychopath I’d been dealing with at all.

“I don’t think we have an even enough split for that, Dr. Karras.” Marcus smirked in that daring and mischievous way he always did. “But Lila already said she could share with me, so there won’t be any awkwardness.” He announced to the whole damn class, who naturally all stared directly at me.

For some reason, every interaction these two had felt like they were issuing a challenge to each other, and I didn’t know if that was because of me, or if they just had some quiet grudge that I didn’t know about. Either was possible. I’d have to ask about that later.

Adrian shook his head. “No, you can bunk with me, Mr. Emery. We’ll sort out the rest of the room assignments when we get there.”

I couldn’t say if Marcus’ expression flattened or if he was stifling a laugh, but either way, I was weirdly a little disappointed.

When everyone was dismissed, I lingered before heading out, waiting for Linda to finish her post-club cooing over the teacher. Marcus never had any issue picking up on my intentions, apparent when he promised to stop by my dorm later, giving me the space to deal with the professor one-on-one.

Adrian didn’t seem to be in a hurry either, and I couldn’t help but notice the way he took extra time to erase the board, as if he was also waiting for us to be alone.

When the door shut on the last of my classmates, I approached his desk.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but… isn’t the timing of this field trip going to coincide with the full moon?” Setting aside the obvious, who goes out to look at the stars during a full moon?