The V- in 403C - Jess Bryant Page 0,31

Reed. Jonah actually looked away, searching the room as if there might be someone else, anyone else that he could call on, but when nobody else raised their hand he returned his gaze to Reed cautiously.

“Mr. Matheson?” He cleared his throat. “Did you have a question?”

Reed didn’t miss that Jonah had called the girl by her first name but didn’t use his. He was clearly trying to keep distance between them which was fine, for now. It wasn’t going to last long. If Jonah wanted to act as if Reed was nothing more than the student who had come in late to their first class that was what they would do, here, in public.

“Mr. Monroe.” He shot back, trying not to smirk when Jonah’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. “Can you remind me? When are your office hours?”

Jonah’s eyes widened slightly behind his glasses and he glanced around the room again before seeming to realize how innocent the question was to anyone that wasn’t them. To everyone else, it was a logical question. He was just a student that needed to know when he could speak to the TA outside of class. Jonah knew better though and from the wild look in his eyes, Reed knew he was already worrying about just what Reed was up to.

Good.

“It’s on the syllabus.” Jonah finally answered.

“So you have office hours directly after this class today then?” Reed pressed and watched Jonah’s lips flatten again.

“Y-yes.” He stuttered and then cleared his throat again. “Yes.”

Reed wanted to hug him. The stutter was back. He’d thought it was so damn adorable in the bar. He’d honestly missed it when he’d only been able to talk to Jonah via text. He liked that he made Jonah a little bit nervous, even when all he wanted was for the man to be comfortable enough with him to see what could happen between the two of them.

“Great. I have some things I’d like to discuss with you after class if you have the time.”

Jonah stared at him for a long moment. At least, it felt like it to Reed. He held his breath as he waited for Jonah to speak and he didn’t relax when he did. Instead, his heart raced and he couldn’t help the grin that broke over his face.

“Fine. I’ll see you after class Mr. Matheson.”

Chapter Eleven

“That’s it for today. Be sure to complete the assigned reading before your next lecture with Professor Lambert.”

Jonah released the class early because he’d spent the last hour so nervous and jittery that he was certain if he spent a moment longer in front of all those watching eyes he might melt. It was all Reed’s fault. Again. It was beautiful, impossibly reckless Reed and his raised hand that had derailed Jonah’s entire lesson plan.

He didn’t think for a single second that there was a chance Reed wanted to talk to him about class. His questions weren’t about Roman history. No. Reed wanted to get him somewhere private so he could force Jonah to have the conversation he’d been avoiding for two days. He’d figured out that he could corner Jonah because of his office hours and he intended to make use of the time to try and convince Jonah that he wasn’t in a relationship with Star Hernandez.

Jonah wasn’t an idiot. Far from it. And since that night on the landing outside his apartment, he’d given a lot of thought to what he knew about Reed Matheson and to what he knew of Star Hernandez as well.

He no longer thought the two were involved in a physical relationship. It didn’t make sense and once he’d calmed down, he’d realized that. Star herself had told him that she lived with her boyfriend. He didn’t think she had meant a boy that was a friend. She and Reed might be together a lot but he’d never seen them exchange anything more than banter. They acted more like siblings than lovers to Jonah’s untrained eye.

The more thought he’d given to them, the more he’d realized that multiple times Reed had moved towards him and away from Star. First, the night they’d met at the club. He’d left her alone on the dance floor to introduce himself to Jonah. Then, on the landing, he’d moved to block Jonah’s path, putting space between himself and Star.

In all those interactions and those in his classroom, Jonah hadn’t failed to notice that the two didn’t hold hands or show any signs of outward affection that hinted at