Chapter 6

6

KING

A few days later, I'm lying on the couch in the common area when Niko walks out of his room. He bypasses me and heads out of the dorm, shutting the door behind him. He isn't gone for long before he's back with a drink from Mummy Mocha.

"Come on, let's start this tutoring stuff."

Rolling my eyes, I scoff. ’Oh, hi King, how are you? Are you up for some tutoring today?’ “Oh, why thank you for asking, Niko, that sounds great."

"You're so dramatic."

" I'm dramatic?" I huff, crossing my arms over my chest. "Nevermind, let me grab my stuff." As I storm off into my room, I roll my eyes, cussing him out silently. Fucking Niko. I don't know what the hell his problem is, but it's getting irritating. I don't know what I did to set him off, but it's testing my patience.

Snatching my backpack off my bed, I head back toward the common area, stopping short when I take in Niko on the couch. He's whispering something under his breath, and I smile when I realize he's talking to one of his snakes. He's petting the top of one's head before another hisses and he redirects his attention.

I can tell the moment he realizes he's no longer alone because his body stiffens and his snakes start hissing, and he whips around to look at me.

"What do you want to start on first?" I ask, dropping down onto the other side of the couch.

"What do you consider to be your worst subject?"

I scoff, "I don't have a worst subject." Niko raises his eyebrow and I relent. "Fine. Math."

"Okay, let's start there." I watch the muscles in his arms flex as he grabs my books and sets them on the table. Niko isn't a big guy; he's actually pretty small compared to me, but his arms are jacked. Arms where the veins are currently flexing and drawing my attention to them. Fuck, I would love to lick along each and every one of them.

One of his snakes hisses at me, and Niko jerks his head up. "I don't think your snake likes me," I tell him, staring at the viper that's inching closer to my face. I wonder if it could read my thoughts, and that's why it got angry. My face pales at the thought. "So, uh, can your snakes read minds or something?" I chuckle nervously, hoping that's not the case.

"What? No, they can't read your mind." He looks at me as though I'm an idiot, but hell, before coming to Creelin U, I've never met a Gorgon before. "Besides, that's Coby, he’s a little feisty sometimes."

Ah, just like his owner.

I grab my pencil, twirling it around with my fingers. "Is it true that they can turn you to stone? Because Coby there keeps staring at me."

"No, but I can. They only attack, but I've trained all of mine. They only strike if I let them. You're lucky you haven't pissed me off too much yet."

Sputtering out incoherent sounds, I fumble with what to say when Niko chuckles. I sigh deeply, snickering alongside him. Thank fuck he was kidding, because with him, it could have been the truth.

"So, you’re able to turn people to stone?"

"What's with all the questions?" he asks.

"I just want to know more about you." I shrug, feeling like someone who's been scolded.

"Yes. I can turn people to stone by looking at them. Sucks sometimes, actually. I used to wear glasses all the time, because there was a filter in them that would protect people. Then, a couple years ago they made these fancy contacts with the same filters, so I finally decided to try them out.”

He looks at me and I'm momentarily stunned. Fuck, he's so gorgeous, but looking into his eyes is something I won't take for granted. Knowing that he could easily turn me to stone should have me terrified, but all I am is grateful I get to gaze into his light green irises.

"Wow," I murmur. "That's pretty damn amazing."

Niko rolls his eyes while huffing out loud. "No, it's not. It fucking sucks I have to wear these at all."

"I mean, yeah, that does suck but—"

He cuts me off before I can continue. "It's whatever. Come on, let's get to work."

We decide to go over review topics since it's only the first week of school and we haven't worked on anything new in class. Niko is so smart it's blowing me away. He has an ease about him that allows him to tell and show me different things I can easily pick up. He explains ideas in a way I can comprehend, and while I'm not dumb, some things are just harder for me to grasp.

But I’m having an even bigger problem: I'm so turned on. I was already physically attracted to him, but his brain is so fucking captivating right now. He spins away and I quickly adjust myself, my cock thickening from him running through my mind.

I close my eyes and try to think of things that will force my dick down. Slowly my hard-on starts to recede. Fucking finally. Wanting to make sure it stays down, I avoid looking at Niko. "Since your dad is the coach, do you ever go to any of the games?"

"No. I hate baseball."

"Really? How can anyone hate baseball?" I turn my head to look at him, and ugh, fucking mistake. He's still gorgeous but now his signature glare is back and aimed directly on me once again.

"Not everyone likes sports."

"I know that; I just figured since your dad was the coach and all..." I trail off, knowing I’ve put my foot in my mouth again. He's already told me he hates baseball, so I don't know why I brought it up again. But there’s just something about him that appeals to me. I want him to like me, but everything I say is wrong. All I'm doing is trying to be his friend.

Neither of us says anything, the silence so awkward. Wanting to try again, I ask, "Do you have any plans this weekend?"

"Working at the library and studying."

"How is it working at the library? Seems like it would be pretty boring."

"Actually, I love it."

Fucking hell, I can't get anything right.

"It's quiet in there, and it's not too busy, so there's times I can take a break and get my schoolwork done. I also love chatting with the people who stop by. Plus, Mummy Mocha is in there, and I'm obsessed with their coffee." He offers me a small smile, then quickly turns away as though he remembered he's supposed to dislike me.

But he let something about him slip. His coffee fix is something I can use to get him on my side. Looking at the table, I see his cup he brought in from earlier. I study the sticker on the cup until I’ve memorized his order. Next time, I'm going to surprise him with a drink. He'll want to be friendly in no time. His little attitude only makes me want to be even nicer to him.

Hell yeah. That's what I'm going to do.

Kill him with kindness.