“But you’re tight.”
“I suppose so. Why do you want to know?” he asked.
“Maybe I’m worried. Is he OK?”
“He’s avoiding people,” he explained with a shrug.
“Why?” I shot back.
“For a multitude of reasons.” Reed’s tone suggested I was getting on his nerves with all the questions, but I ploughed on regardless.
“One being?”
His expression became clouded. God, this boy was cagey. “It’s safer that way.”
“What doesthatmean?” I asked.
Reed sniffed before transferring the fork to his left hand. He then washed a hand down his face before lifting his jaw to stare at me. “What did Storm say?” His tone had dropped, a dark edge filtering into that cavalier attitude he was trying to project.
Flicking back a chunk of hair which had fallen forward, I stated. “Nothing. Just that he’s home-schooled sometimes.”
His lip curled into a semi-sneer. “Why don’t you ask dear old daddy?” Great. We were back to that.
Our eyes remained tangled. I, too, could answer a question with a question. “What makes you thinkheknows anything about it?”
Reed scowled. “He runs the school, so he should know everything.”
I ignored the raised voice and added softly. “I’m not sure he knows personal stuff aboutallhis students. And if he did. He wouldn’t be able to tell me. Teacher, pupil confidence and all that.”
Dragging his gaze away, he stabbed a bit of cucumber and popped it into his mouth. Taking his time to chew it, he pointed out with a cocky grin. “Well then. Don’t expect me to either.Brother to brotherconfidence, and all that.”
Rolling my eyes, I huffed. “I wassupposedto tutor Hudson last weekend, but he bailed.” Fuck, I hoped I wasn’t breaking Hudson’s confidence by telling his brother that.
Reed looked confused, his dark brows knitting. “In what?”
“I suppose that’s between him and me,” I shot back, moodily folding my arms. Two could play that game.
My actions caused him to glance at my breasts, which were squashed from my arm gesture. The suggestive look he shot me was pure sin.
“I can imagine.”
Rapidly uncrossing my arms, I placed my palms on the table, feeling the need to do something with my fingers. “It’s nothing like that, thank you very much.” Pushing my lunch tray away, I looked down my nose at him.
“So, you guys weren’t playing tongue tennis by the lockers last week?”
“It’s complicated,” I said on an exhale.
“Where Hudson’s concerned. It usually is,” Reed replied. He’d finished Storm’s salad dish and then eyed the apple with distaste. Clearlynota fruit guy. Shaking his head, he added, “Twelve bucks for three pieces of chicken andgrass. Fucking waste of money. You going to eat that?”
Ignoring his comment about the overpriced food, I said. “Knock yourself out.”
I watched wide-eyed as he tugged my tray towards him and tucked in. “Look, he asked me to help him with his maths.” I didn’t relish any dirty-minded suspicions.
“Math?” he echoed, leaving off the ‘s’ like Americans did. His tone suggested he was surprised.
“Yes. Something about a bench and staying off it?”
Reed nodded as he placed the fork down and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Yeah, there is that.”
