Chapter 30

K ing glanced over the syllabus for the gothic lit class that he'd basically had to use all of his connections to get into with heightened interest. Lila had talked about the class last year, and he thought it actually sounded interesting. Since it was only taught once a semester, a spot in this class guaranteed that he'd be in it with Lila, which was his main motivator, if he was being totally honest. Dr. Danger (yes, that was her real name) insisted on doing everything old school, so the syllabus was printed on paper (sorry trees), its multiple pages stapled together. Word on the street was, Dr. Danger also preferred her students to handwrite notes because laptops were "distracting."

He was prepared with all of the things, just in case.

The class was tiny, only 15 students, so their seats were arranged around a conference room–style table, with Dr. Danger lording over them like a CEO. Personally, King respected the flex.

"This seat taken?" Lila smiled down at the chair that was currently being inhabited by his laptop bag.

"Actually, I was saving this for a friend…but I guess it's fine if you sit here." He removed his bag with a smirk.

"I guess your friend's gonna miss out. I hear it's assigned seating for the rest of the semester."

Oh, King was already well aware of this policy, which was why he chose the narrower section of the table where there were only two seats right next to each other. Hell, he'd gotten to class 20 minutes early just to accomplish that feat.

Lila tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and they were close enough that King could smell the subtle scent of her perfume.

Before he could dwell too long on how much that simple gesture affected him, Dr. Danger entered the room and began class. King was glad that he'd brought a notebook and a pen because no one else got out their computers. They were, indeed, locked into their current seating arrangement for the remainder of the semester, which was supremely satisfying.

Class participation was a big portion of their grade, so King forced himself to focus so he'd have something to say. Lila was positively luminous in this environment. Her intelligence was obvious, but she only spoke up when she felt she had something valuable to contribute. He'd never really seen her in her element before, and it made her all the more enticing to him. Her quiet confidence and eloquent answers were pretty damn sexy.

Class flew by, and soon they were exiting the room and heading over to grab a coffee at the Brad. Instead of heading for the big common area where they usually sat, King led them down one of the vestibules to a much smaller but similarly high-ceilinged room that was furnished with a few couches and a smattering of tables and chairs.

"Embarrassing confession… I've been here two whole years and had no idea this room was even here," Lila remarked as they sat down next to each other on one of the couches.

"It's kind of a secret that's not really a secret," King replied. "I usually come here when I need to catch a ten-minute power nap between classes. There are rarely any people in here. Also, this couch is shockingly comfortable."

"Agreed." Lila took a sip of her coffee. "Thanks for showing this to me. I might have to use it for power naps too sometimes. I usually just find a bench and use my bag as a pillow."

"It's quite the bag. I bet you could fit an actual pillow in there if you wanted."

"A travel pillow," Lila confirmed with a raised brow. "But it took up too much space. So textbooks it is."

They sat in companionable silence as they drank their coffees. King took a pull of his before turning to Lila. "So I never really thanked you for the other day when my mom came into the restaurant." She tried to wave him off with her hand, but he reached out to still it and lower it back down. Their fingers were laced together before he realized what was happening. He wasn't even sure if it had been initiated by him or if it had been Lila.

"Seriously, La. You were brilliant with her, read her like a book. She looks down her nose at everybody, but she actually likes you. I'm sorry she left and didn't pay for her food. Thanks for being so chill about everything afterwards." He'd ended up staying in the booth to eat, taking comfort in Lila's busy, efficient movements.

"Well, you didn't have to leave me such an asinine tip." Lila squeezed his hand. And it was an asinine tip. He'd left her $50. "Lunch was on me, remember?" She kept their fingers linked but managed to nudge him with her shoulder.

"You did something nice for me, so I wanted to do something nice for you. That's what friends do, isn't it?"

She nodded. "I know it's not my business, but if you ever need someone to talk to…I'm here. You know, if you need support or whatever."

This time King was the one who squeezed her hand. Then the words just emerged from deep inside him, unbidden, flowing out until she knew about the neglect he'd experienced, the abuse, how his mother always took his father's side every time… Everything. How his fear of becoming like his father had affected him deeply. How he'd been working through everything in counseling.

He hadn't even noticed when she had gently taken away his drink and set it down, how she'd dropped their hands and had put an arm around his back. His head was resting on her shoulder, her fingers combing through his hair. When his words were finally spent, he let out a relieved breath. She sighed deeply.

"Thank you for trusting me with your story, King. You've had to deal with so much from the time you were just a little boy." Her fingers continued tracking through his waves. "Holy shit, you are miraculous," Lila whispered. "You've forged your own path, formed your own family. And you're fiercely loyal to and protective of those you care about." Then his heart stopped when she softly repeated her words from months ago, the words that he still carried with him every day:

"You are not your father. You're a king."

He raised his head off of her shoulder, their faces impossibly close to each other. Her amber eyes were bright, almost golden, with emotion. If he leaned in just a couple of inches, he could kiss her. And maybe that desire was written all over his face, because her pupils expanded and she looked like she wanted to be utterly consumed. He reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

That movement seemed to snap Lila out of whatever daze she'd been in, and she backed away slowly, putting much-needed space between them. She smiled, but the look in her eyes was harder for King to interpret. "We should probably get going. My next class starts soon."

King nodded, and they gathered their things.

As Lila was turning to go, King called out to her. She turned back, a question on her face. "Just…thank you" was all King could manage to say.

She nodded in understanding and then waved goodbye. Damn if he didn't hate watching her go.