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“Yes, Mr. Simpson, please have a seat,” O’Shea said, motioning for the chair next to me.

Andy seemed to consider his options for a moment, his lower lip disappearing between his teeth as he stood his ground, but finally he stepped fully inside, closing the door before walking over and perching on the edge of the chair.

“Mr. Simpson, have you scheduled your public service hours for this semester yet?” O’Shea asked him softly.

“No, sir,” Andy admitted. “I’ve scheduled a few appointments for next week, but nothing has been decided yet.”

“Well, Mr. Hix and I were hoping that you’d consider tutoring him. He’s struggling with English Lit, and I understand that you’re well versed in Faulkner.”

“I’m not taking Lit,” Andy said.

“I’m aware of that,” O’Shea agreed. “But this is a special circumstance. Mr. Hix must raise his Lit grade if he’s going to remain active on the football team. And since you’re required to put in service hours anyway, I thought this might be a beneficial partnership for both of you.”

Andy was staring at O’Shea, as if refusing to look over at me. That was fine, it gave me a moment to study his profile. His cheekbones were chiseled sharp, and his jaw clenched when he wasn’t speaking.

Oh…he really didn’t want to do this.

Excellent.

“Look, Andy,” I said softly. “I know that we’ve had our issues in the past. But I’m really hoping we can move past all of that now. Weren’t you the one who told me that we’re adults now? Please. Can you help me out here?”

I hoped I wasn’t laying it on too thick. There was no way Andy was going to buy it, but I wanted to make it as difficult as possible for him to refuse in front of Monsignor O’Shea.

Andy turned to look at me finally, his gaze narrowed as it raked over my face.

Yeah, he didn’t buy my bullshit for a minute.

“Oh, I agree,” he said after a moment, turning back to O’Shea. “And this will count toward my public service obligation?”

“Of course,” O’Shea agreed.

“Fine,” Andy said, not bothering to sound happy about it.

“Great!” I said brightly, forcing a smile as I dug my phone out of my pocket and flicked it open before handing it to Andy. “Pop your digits in there for me and we’ll work out a schedule.”

He snatched it from my hand and added his contact information, calling himself from the phone before disconnecting and handing it back.

“Lovely,” O’Shea said, pushing himself to his feet. “Now get out. Both of you.”

Chapter Five

~Andy~

This was a fucking nightmare. I didn’t want to tutor him. I didn’t want to be near him. Out of all the people in this school, I couldn’t imagine why the monsignor would suggest that I be the one to help Trevor.

Except I did.

Trevor had orchestrated all of this.

I followed Trevor out of the office and turned to head back to my apartment, since there wasn’t enough time left of class to bother going back, but Trevor grabbed my arm and dragged me into an empty classroom next to O’Shea’s office.

“I’ll send you the assignment and you can email me the finished paper tomorrow night,” Trevor said. “And don’t make it sound too smart or Professor Schaffer will know I didn’t write it myself.”

“I agreed to tutor you,” I spat. “I’m not doing your fucking work for you.”

His hand closed around my throat as he shoved me against the wall, his gaze locked on mine as if he couldn’t care less if someone walked in and saw us. And why would he? It wasn’t as if there was anyone in this school, faculty included, that would stop Trevor Hix from doing whatever he wanted to do.

“I own your ass, Princess,” he hissed. “You’ll do what I fucking tell you to do.”