Under His Skin

21. Partners

He puts his pen down and looks up. His eyes trail down me and back up again as I remove my coat.

His nose and cheeks are still slightly pink with the cold, his eyes have a sleepy look about them, and his hair is completely flat for once.

"You look cute." The words slip out of brain and into my mouth before I can stop them.

River throws me an incredulous look as I sit down beside him. "I'll pretend you didn't just say that, Anatolia."

"And if I say it again?" I tease quietly.

"Don't push me right now," he says in a low, rough voice, but his eyes are all amusement.

"Like this?" I go to give him a tiny shove, but he easily catches my wrist.

The feel of his touch catches me off guard. A smirk dawns on his face.

"Girl, you are getting on my last nerve."

"Girl?" I pout a little as he withdraws his grasp.

"What? Upset that I didn't call you Angel?"

"No. Maybe. Urgh."

River laughs softly.

"You look tired. Didn't you sleep well?" I ask, as Mr Bonner enters the classroom and starts sorting through some papers on his desk.

"I didn't sleep at all," he replies, leaning back in his chair. "Had to stay up all night to do homework."

I hesitate for a second, before saying "You know, I go to the library to study most nights after school. It's just me most of the time."

River looks at me, really looks at me. His pink lips form a little smile.

"Thanks for the offer, but Mrs.Flowers is all yours, Ana."

I still can't get over how much I like it when he says my nickname. It sounds so casual, but so intimate at the same time.

The door opens and a group of frozen students walk in. One of them is Andrew Shelby. He sends a daring glare River's way before taking his seat.

"You know, you could have killed him, River."

River follows my gaze. "Looks very much alive to me."

I sigh and turn my attention to Mr Bonner as he claps his hands and takes his place at the front of class.

"Right, first things first, I want to quickly talk about your coursework. You do require a partner, and to keep things simple, I'm partnering each of you with the person next to you."

River knocks his leg into mine.

"I guess Mrs.Flowers won't be all mine, after all," I whisper to him.

"You're kidding, right? We have an excuse to spend a lot of time together and you want to spend it in the library?" He whispers back.

"Where else do you propose? Your house? In your bedroom? Like we'd get any work done."

River pauses, then replies "Okay, fair point. What about your home? Something tells me you have stricter parents than me."

I blush at the very thought of River in my pastel-coloured bedroom. Ha. Like my dad would let him get that far. He'd have us working in his tiny little office, with mum popping by every ten  minutes to spy on us, under the guise of offering tea and biscuits.

With that in mind, I prepare to say definitely not. But when I turn my head slightly to look at River, I don't miss the intense hope in his eyes.

I think of how often I find myself wanting to know every little thing about him. Maybe he feels the same about me.

"Okay. That could work. Shall we start tomorrow?"

River holds back a smile. "I can be at yours for 6?"

"Don't be late."

"For you? Never."

I feel the usual butterflies in my stomach.

We're nearing the end of the lesson when Mr. Bonner approaches our desk and asks River and I to return a bunch of textbooks to the library.

"Of course," I reply, taking half of the pile.

River grabs the other half. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure."

A few people start snickering. I bite my lip as Mr. Bonner gives him a deadpan look.

River and I chat all the way down to the library. The topics range from what we both dreamt about last night, to embarrassing childhood stories. We only pause our conversation to make small talk with Mrs Flowers.

As River holds the library door open for me on our way out, I realise how comfortable I am in his company now.

Our bodies brush as we make our way down an empty corridor.

River stifles a yawn.

"You need a cat nap." I tell him, softly.

"I need a lot of things," River replies, as the bell starts to ring and classroom doors slam open around us. "Anatolia Gunn, naked in my bed again, being number one on my lengthy list."

I start to blush furiously. He makes sure to flash me a devilish smirk before we're separated by the sea of students making a beeline for the canteen.