me that she was okay. I wasn’t convinced. Visions of Maximillian holding her close and capitalizing on her vulnerability made me sick to my stomach, and then I wanted to punch myself because I wasn’t any better. The night at Huck-a-poos still haunted me. I wanted to hold her again.
I knew that if I bugged Lance about it any more, he’d start asking questions. I was in a precarious position, straddling concern with distance so we could keep our attraction to one another a secret.
But was there any attraction left? She avoided me like the plague now. The pull was one-sided, and it fucked me up to know I couldn’t just forget how soft her skin felt or how she moaned at my touch. I had to wade through my restraint like it was a bowl of molasses.
The front door to our loft opened and in stumbled a staggering Blakely in the arms of Maximillian. Her laughter was like clumsy bells falling to the floor. The moment Max saw me, his eyes widened with fear.
Good.
“Mr. Harris,” he greeted as Blakely pulled a nimble finger up and pressed it against her lips with a giggle. She was shushing me.
She was drunk off her ass.
“You skipped my class today and now show up drunk?” I gritted out with a sneer. Max had the decency to flinch. “You better not have driven her home if you drank, Max. So help me God.” I clenched my fist in anger, reminding myself that I’d go to jail if I kicked his ass right here and now. Max let go of Blakely to throw his hands up in surrender.
“Oh, no, no. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol. Promise,” he said just as Blakely’s heel slipped and she went crashing down to the ground. I jumped into action just as Max grabbed her elbow. She was like dead weight though, because he couldn’t haul her up.
Weak ass punk.
“Move,” I ordered before bending over and picking Blakely up. Once she was cradled in my arms, I turned to look at Maximillian. “You have detention for the next month. Get the fuck out of my house,” I yelled, not caring that it was inappropriate to be holding Blakely against my chest or that I was abusing my power as his teacher to inflict punishment when I didn’t have the right. “And if I hear that you took advantage of her vulnerable state, I will make it my personal mission to punish you to the full extent of the law,” I growled.
Maximillian blinked. “Careful, Mr. H., I can’t tell if you sound like a jealous boyfriend or her father.”
I lifted Blakely to steady her in my shaking arms. I wasn’t even shaking because she was heavy—because she was way too light. Was she eating enough? Fuck, why was I worried about her eating habits?
I was shaking because I was so angry at this asshole for calling me out. “Is there something you’d like to say, kid?” I sneered. Blakely moaned in my lap, and I figured we had about twenty seconds before she was vomiting all over the front of my shirt.
Maximillian gave me a sly smile. It was one of those knowing grins that made me want to punch his teeth in. “After a few shots, she talked about you a lot. I’m not one to judge, but I suggest you take a hard look at yourself before accusing me of preying on a vulnerable girl.” Max then reached up to brush a blonde strand out of Blakely’s eyes. “See you in class, Mr. H,” he said before spinning around and leaving the loft. Maximillian Hemsworth was going to be a problem.
I didn’t even have time to think about the shit storm that was brewing, because Blakely groaned against my chest once more. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she whimpered. My feet moved lightning fast to our bathroom, and I set her down on the cold tile before flipping up the toilet lid.
Her body folded over as she emptied the liquid contents of her stomach into the bowl. I gathered her hair up in my fist, keeping it out of the projectile vomit. Although it was disgusting, it was a strangely intimate move that had my body growing stiff with protectiveness and care. I tried to convince myself that it was second nature to me. I’d held my own mother’s hair up plenty of times when I was a teen. But I knew deep down that