Better Deeds Than Words (Words#2) (23 page)

“I’m
not
trying to buy your affection.” He narrowed his eyes. “What? What’s with the grin?”

“It’s just something Julie said yesterday. It’s nothing.”

“Judging by the look on your face, that’s not true. What did she say?”

I put my hand over my eyes and peeked at him through my fingers. “She said you were giving me gifts because you were jonesing for a blow job.”

Daniel stifled what would most likely have been a Guinness laugh.

“I can’t believe she said that.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “It’s a little worrisome, though. I certainly hope I won’t have to bribe you to get a blow job. When the time is right, of course.”

Ha! If he only knew how desperate I was to lick him from head to toe…

“You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” I said with a naughty grin. “God, what is it about this room that always leads to us talking about oral sex?”

“I’m not sure. Do you suppose they rent the space out for dirty weekends? There are a hell of a lot of bookshelves we could work our way through.” He scanned the walls around us.

“Oh, please don’t,” I begged him. “I’m dying over here.”

“Well, at least I’m not the only one being tormented by pent up sexual tension.” He smiled cheekily, tapping his fingers on the table.

“Who says my sexual tension is pent up?”

His tapping fingers stilled. “What do you mean?”

“You know
exactly
what I mean.”

He cleared his throat. “Jesus. Really?”

“Yes, really. Especially after that email last night. All that talk about your fingers…”

He slowly licked his lips and then grasped my hand under the table again.

“These?” he whispered.

I nodded, and he closed his eyes, expelling a long, steady breath. “Fuck.” He stood and walked over to the bookshelf, scanning the collection as though he’d just noticed the most fascinating volume of poetry. I wasn’t fooled. I could tell that he was adjusting himself in his khakis. He dropped his head back and rolled his shoulders before turning back around to look at me pensively.

I smiled, and he smirked. The library door creaked open, and he sat back down, dragging his chair a little farther down the table. I watched a guy walk across the room and flop into a seat near the fireplace.

“We shouldn’t tempt fate,” I whispered.

“You’re right. I have to meet Cara downstairs in the coffee shop soon anyway. We’re going over her paper again.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Indeed. She’s an interesting young lady, that one.”

“Interesting?”

Vacuous
I’d give him.
Shallow, moronic, top-heavy
, yes, but
interesting?

“I know she comes across as ditzy in class and during lectures,” he said, “but she did fairly well on her test. I obviously can’t discuss specifics, but I got the sense that she’d studied. And she’s working hard on her paper. She’s not what I’d call intuitive, but she’s really trying.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Good for her, I guess. I still can’t help wondering what the hell she’s doing taking this course, though.”

“I happen to know the answer to that. She’s been surprisingly forthcoming. Apparently, her mother didn’t get a chance to go to university. She always wanted to study English, and she seems to be living vicariously through Cara’s experiences.”

“So, Cara is taking English courses to appease her mother?”

“Essentially. She loves her sociology courses, but she’s taking the English minor for her mom’s benefit. Her mother reads all the books so they can talk about everything. It’s kind of sad.”

I nodded. “It’s hard to see past the boobs and the valley talk sometimes, you know? Maybe I’ve been too critical.”

“I have to admit, it’s hard not to talk down to her and Lindsay when they say such ridiculous things.”

“I noticed that earlier. You need to rein in the condescending tone a wee bit, eh? There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, sailor.”

“Just as there’s a fine line between skepticism and cynicism.”

Touché.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that information about Cara,” he said. “Keep that between us, okay?”

“Of course.”

“I should go. Are you cool with what happened with the test?”

“Yes, Mr. Grant, I understand what happened.”

“And you’ll be sure to make another appointment if you need to discuss
Much Ado
, or your sonnet analysis, or your paper, or, I don’t know, the difference between colons and semi-colons?”

I laughed. “Don’t push your luck.”

“Fair enough,” he said, grinning wickedly all the same. “I’ll be in touch. Excellent independent work, Miss Price. I’m impressed with how well you took care of that
problem
you were having without my
assistance
.” He raised his eyebrow impishly and made his way out of the library.

Good lord, he was cheeky. And so damn sexy. I gathered my belongings and left, immediately feeling his absence and already looking forward to his evening email. As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait that long. I was in the middle of Queen’s Park when my phone chirped, and I stopped at the edge of the path to read the message.

From: Jung Willman
To: Miss_V
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2:35:16 PM
Subject: Stress!

Hey, Miss Busy Fingers,

I really enjoyed chatting with you. Sorry again about the mark issue. I’ll do better next time. You’re not a “dolt” and deserved a perfect grade.

I hate arguing with you, but I love that we’re getting better at talking things out. Most stressful of all is that I can’t spend money on you for thirty-one days, yet I know that I’m not prepared to stop giving you gifts. I’m going to have to be creative.

Your favorite nitpicker,
-D

Chapter 15

Brief Hours

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
(
Sonnet 116
)

“O
KAY
, I T
HINK
W
E’LL
L
EAVE
it at that for today,” Daniel said. “
Sonnet 116
is a favorite of mine, and I’d rather not beat it to death. Plus, some of you have to put up with me tonight too. Wouldn’t want to risk getting tiresome.”

As if
. Daniel could read sonnets to me until the cows came home and I’d hang off his every syllable. He could probably read the phone book, and I’d still end up in a puddle at his feet.

Julie had spent almost the entire tutorial banging her knee against mine while Daniel read sonnet after sonnet. All the girls were similarly enthralled. Even Trina, who made no attempts to hide that she was a lesbian, was utterly rapt during his reading of
Sonnet 116
.

“
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is a fixed mark which looks on tempests and is never shaken…
”

So true.

“It’s hard to believe we only have one more tutorial left. The semester is flying by,” Daniel said, his eyes briefly meeting mine. “Does anyone have any questions before we go?”

Apparently no one did because everyone began pushing back their chairs.

Julie gave me an awkward hug. “Have fun at the play tonight. Wish I hadn’t gone on Wednesday night without you, but rehearsals are kind of running my life right now. I’ll be so glad when this show is over.”

“A few more weeks and you’ll have your life back.” I snuck a peek across the room
. A few more weeks—a mere twenty-seven days—and he’ll be completely mine
. I looked back at Julie. “You did grab me the tickets for your show, right? Two of them?”

“They’re waiting at the box office. All
five
of them.”

“Five? Why five?”

“Brad and Penny are coming too. No pressure!” she said, laughing ruefully as she left.

I slid my bag over my arm and glanced at Daniel. He was talking with Neil, eyebrows furrowed as he nodded. I turned, intending to make my way out of the room, and bumped straight into Shawn.

“Hey, Aubrey,” he said. “I noticed when I signed up that you’re going to the play tonight too. Maybe we can sit together?”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said noncommittally.

“So, um, what sonnet are you doing for your analysis?”

“I’m still trying to decide. Sonnets aren’t my specialty.”

“Yeah, I hear ya. I prefer to have some plot along with the imagery. Still, Daniel made it seem straightforward today. I gotta hand it to him; he seems to be on top of things.”

On top of things?
There was only one thing I wanted Daniel to be on top of right now. He was still chatting with Neil but looking uncomfortably in our direction, displeased that, once again, Shawn Ward was hovering around me attentively.

Never had there been less justification for jealousy.

It seemed strange to leave without saying goodbye to Daniel, but at least I’d see him again in a few hours. He obviously felt as uncomfortable as I did because he’d already messaged me by the time I reached the entrance to Queen’s Park.

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before you left,
but I have to get home to work on a special project.
This not spending money nonsense is time consuming.
(Don’t worry, there’s neither a glue gun nor icing sugar involved.
Apparently creativity isn’t always messy!)
And are your knee caps bruised from all the bumping with Julie’s?
See you soon! -D

I smiled as I responded.

My knee caps are fine, thank you.
They’re remarkably resilient.
One day you’ll see exactly what I mean.
(Are you messy now?) See you soon. -A

Daniel was pacing in front of the theater doors when I arrived at Hart House that night.

“Sorry I’m late. I got a little sidetracked with an essay,” I said, shrugging out of my jacket.

“You’d better get in there,” Daniel said. “Here’s your ticket. Give me your coat. You head on in.”

I made my way into the theater, following the usher who led me to my seat. A few people I recognized from class were sitting together, all in one row. There were two empty seats at the aisle, and then Shawn. It appeared I had no choice. I forced myself to smile and sat down.

“Hey. I was wondering what happened to you,” he said with excessive enthusiasm.

“Yep, here I am.”

“I’ve heard this is a good production.”

“Yeah, Julie enjoyed it.” I flipped absently through my program.

“For sure. I heard her say that this afternoon. So, um, that’s good.”

When did talking to Shawn become so awkward?

Daniel arrived, rescuing me from my discomfort. I retrieved my notepad and pen from my purse and settled in, angling myself slightly in Daniel’s direction. Shawn smiled at me, but before he could launch into any more banalities, the house lights went down. A moment later, the stage lights came up, and the action began.

I kept my eyes fixed on the stage, occasionally jotting notes. From time to time, Shawn’s knee would bump against mine, or his elbow would brush against my arm. I tried to fold in on myself to avoid touching him.