Page 42 of Darkness Defined

“That’s cheating!”

I moved it out of the way just in time and his hand closed on empty air, then squatted down to look him in the eye. He pouted back at me. Any other time, any other person, I knew exactly what I would have done. That mouth was practically begging to be kissed. Instead, I simply said, “I have to get my kicks where I can. Besides, I thought you wanted to practice.”

He narrowed his eyes, then went all black and disappeared.

I quickly stood and scanned the room. He was already way better at shadowing out than I was. Almost immediately, something slammed into my back and I went crashing into the couch. I thought he’d thrown something at me, but it turned out to be Matt himself. I struggled and ended up flipping both of us over the furniture. We landed with an epic thud that knocked the wind out of me. As I regained my breath, I could hear him wheezing his own laugh.

“You’re messed up.” I snagged a fallen pillow and smacked him.

“Oh please, that was fun and you know it.” There was a loud banging on the wall and we both fell into fits of laughter.

“Okay, you win. It was fun,” I finally managed. “But maybe we should keep it to the training rooms.”

“Then hurry up.” He snatched the very pillow I’d just used in order to smack me back.

I scrambled to my feet to do as he asked. After changing quickly, I snagged the small stack of books I’d brought with me. Without thinking, I placed them on the counter and gathered my things so we could go. As we made our way over to the training rooms specifically set aside for our class, we continued to chat amicably.

“What exactly were you wanting to work on?” I glanced at Matt.

“I don’t know. What do you think will be on the test?”

“Practicum,” I corrected.

“Whatever. I just don’t want to look like an idiot.”

“You won’t look like an idiot,” I said, opening the door to an empty training space.

He flipped on the switch and tossed his things to the side. “You say that now, but I never do well in class. Working with you is one thing, but having to perform like some monkey in front of everyone…” He trailed off and ran his hands through his hair, oblivious to how hot he looked when he did that.

“I think you’ve been doing better during the lessons,” I said, trying to school my renegade thoughts.

He spared me a glance full of earnest hope. “You really think so? You’re not just saying that?”

“What are you really worried about?”

He hesitated before answering. “What if I mess it up and Vera decides I can’t stay?” He stared down at his shuffling feet, looking more adorable than ever.

I snorted. “There’s no way she’ll ever send you packing.”

His gaze rose to meet mine. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re great. You get all of this school stuff. I… I can’t go back. This is the only real opportunity I’ve ever had. I can’t afford to mess this up.”

The sad statement hurt my heart. I really wished he’d tell me more about his past. It would be so much easier to comfort him if I only knew what he was so afraid of. But if he didn’t want to tell me, then there was nothing I could do to make him. In lieu of real answers, I would just have to make sure he felt confident enough in his own abilities.

“Then I guess we should get to practicing.” I tossed him a sphere of shadow.

He caught it with no problem and lobbed it back. “Catch, Alex? Really?”

“It still requires concentration and you’re the one who wants more practice.”

“Yeah, but I was hoping for something a little more intense.”

I caught the sphere and juggled it between my hands. “Intense, huh? How about this? I’ll make this more interesting if you help me shadow out better.”

“What’re you talking about? You did it just fine not half an hour ago.”

“For the record, I had no idea that would work. It’s still pretty hit or miss for me.”

“Deal. But I don’t know how you expect to make throwing a ball more interesting.”