Page 46 of Hateful
I blink and my eyes flick to Beck, who turns to glare at Heath over his shoulder.
“Bet you liked all the attention that got you, didn’t you?” Jasper growls.
“You could really tell he did,” Heath agrees. “It was super obvious. The way he turned super red and then tried to make himself as small as possible? Classic attention-seeking moves.”
I bring my other hand up to my mouth to try to stifle a giggle.God damnit Heath.Beck’s so confused at Heath’s tone that he loosens his grip on my arm, and I slide out and dart out the doorway with Rafael following behind.
But not before I manage to flick the folded note to the floor at Heath’s feet.
“Now Iknowsomeone has a crush,” Rafael says with a sideways glance. I look away.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, come on. Not just you, either—Heath.”
“What?” I look over my shoulder. Though Jasper and Beck are already grumpily exiting the classroom. Heath lags behind. His eyes scan the crowd before he finds me in it. He lifts the note up and grins before turning to rush after the other two.
“Look, Alex,” Rafael says sagely, still yanking me by the handle on my backpack, “I know gay shit when I see it. And that was some seriously gay shit.”
“So you don’t think he suspects—” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“Nope. That boy totally believes that you’re also a boy.” He pats me on the back. “Make of that what you will.”
As if any of this was really ever up to me.
Chapter Sixteen
It would probably bea good idea to let some space grow between Heath and I, just to be safe. But even if that had been my intention, it seems fate has other plans when Heath is assigned as my lab partner in our very next class.
Now we have no choice but to spend even more time together. For once, I don’t mind being paired with a member of The Brotherhood.
Beck isn’t in this class, thankfully, but Jasper is—and he gets paired with Rafael, who looks a little flustered. I’m pretty sure it’s because of the way Jasper’s jawline looks ready to cut the next person who gets too close. The next time Jasper isn’t looking, I shoot a wicked grin over at Rafael.
Rafael’s a sucker for blue eyes, and Jasper’s are the bluest I’ve ever seen.
Almost blue enough to make up for howrudehe is, a fact I can overhear even all the way across class.
“We gonna get started?” Heath asks cheerfully as I bring my books over to his table. Behind me, I can practicallyhearthe color rising in Rafael’s cheeks with each one of Jasper’s muttered words.
“Yeah.” I settle into the chair next to Heath and pull the lab instructions out of the packet of papers the professor has given us. “Iodine staining, huh?”
“Have you done this before?”
“Once. With an onion cell.” I flip through a few of the papers. “Nothing this in-depth.”
“Yeah, looks like they’re giving us a bunch of things to stain.” He reaches toward the microscope on the other end of the table, meaning he has to reach past me. He leans closer than necessary, almost across my lap with his shoulder brushing my chest. Then he pulls away to sit correctly … but not before a shiver runs through my entire body.
Keep your head in the right place, girl.
We get to work on the lab, very delicately dropping bits of iodine onto the cells we’re supposed to be viewing before gently placing the covers over the slides. It’s not difficult work, but itistedious.
Heath keeps finding ways to touch me, and after what Rafael said earlier, I realize that he’s been doing this kind of thing for a while—we just have never been in close proximity long enough for me to realize how purposeful it is.
When he gives me the iodine bottle, his fingertips brush ever so gently against mine. He leans over my shoulder to watch me put the slides together and breathes gently into my hair. When he wants something that’s near me, he doesn’t ask for it; he just reaches over me or around me, his skin brushing mine, to pluck it up and whisk it away.
“We running today?” he asks quietly as I fiddle with a flea on a slide.
“I was planning on it,” I tell him as nonchalantly as I can manage. I glance over at Rafael’s table as if just looking at my friend will give me some guidance. I can’t tell just how well the lab work is going, but he and Jasper seem to be getting along okay, if not a bit awkwardly. “So if you want to come, you can.”
