You cracked him pretty hard." He grinned like me punching Scott was some kind of turn-on.
"Scott's not my boyfriend," I said on reflex, then when Bark's eyes lit with interest, I shook my head firmly. "I'm seeing someone else." Several someone elses.
Bark just gave an easy shrug. "That's cool. Hit me up if it doesn't work out." He shot me a wink and started following his friends, then paused and turned back to face me. "Hey, sorry to hear about that fire. I hope they catch the shithead who lit it."
My jaw dropped, but Bark was gone around the corner with his friends before I could fully comprehend what he'd just said.
Sorry to hear about that fire? How the hell had he heard about it? How had he known it had anything to do with me?
Cold chills skated over my skin again, and I pulled my phone out, sending a mental middle finger to the SGU no-phones rule.
Madison Kate: add Bark to that profile list too. He knows something.
Archer D'Ath: Done.
I let out a long breath, letting his one-word answer calm me. I'd messaged him directly, not the group, because I knew he would already be working on Professor Barker. Archer didn't mess around on security shit.
As I stood there, my phone lit up again. It was another message from Archer, but it didn't contain any words. Just an emoji.
A love heart.
What the fuck was I meant to say to that? What was it even supposed to mean? Maybe it was an accidental emoji. I decided to wait and see if he said anything else and pocketed my phone once more.
With all the suspicious shit from Professor Barker and Bark combined, I was starting to think I needed to take a break from my studies. Either I was making myself an easy target by keeping a set schedule in a public area or I was becoming paranoid. Neither option seemed to fit with my decision to make good choices.
Maybe that was something to discuss with my harem over dinner. Like a real relationship.
43
The rest of my morning seemed to totally drag—something that was only made worse by the slimy sensation of being watched from all corners. In fact, that wasn't just my imagination. Everyone was staring at me, again, just like when I’d first returned from Cambodia. Except this time, they were staring thanks to the video circulating of me decking Scott.
Both Bree and Kody were waiting for me when I rushed out to the parking lot and all but fell into Kody's arms.
"I'm so freaking ready to get off campus for an hour," I lamented, snuggling my face into Kody's T-shirt and inhaling the manly smell of him.
His hands stroked down my back, soothing me even as he laughed at my theatrics. "Well, are you girls going to wanna talk about sex?" He sounded cautious, and I frowned up at him, confused.
"Hell yes," Bree answered for us.
Kody rolled his eyes. "Then maybe you should ride with Bree and get that part done in private. I'll follow behind you."
My brows rose in surprise. "Really?"
He nodded firmly. "God yes. I don't ever want to hear about how my cock compares to Arch’s or Steele’s, thanks. Leave me alone in my fantasy that they're total crap in bed and I'm the only one who rocks your world, ‘kay?"
Bree snickered and headed over to her car, parked a couple of spaces over, as Kody kissed me. "Come on, girl. You gotta tell me all about how huge Archer's dick is again. And did you tell me Steele pierced his?" She raised her voice enough it couldn't be anything but an attempt to tease Kody.
He gave a pained groan, then kissed me again and swatted my ass. "Go, enjoy. I'll be right behind you, okay?"
I smiled, rising on my tiptoes to smack another quick kiss on his lips. "Thanks. And you always rock my world, Kodiak Jones."
He rolled his eyes, but there was an amused smile on his lips when I blew a kiss over my shoulder at him before sliding into Bree's passenger seat.
Once we were in the privacy of her car, pulling out of the student lot with Kody's car right on our tail, I turned to her with an accusing glare.
"How'd you know Steele had a pierced dick? I never told you that!"
Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she gave me a wide-eyed stare while waiting for the traffic to clear. "Are you serious?" she shrieked. "I was just joking,