Page 135 of Their Cruel Play
Drawing in a breath, I brace myself for whatever Tanner decides to throw at me today.
Tanner lifts his gaze to me as I sit. I immediately look away. Engaging is a bad idea. I get out my art pad and take a few notes on what I’m thinking of creating.
“Productive weekend?” His voice is neutral. That doesn’t make me any less worried. Was he part of the plan with Zach? Did he send that guy in there to rape me? Is that his plan?
I don’t answer him, because I don’t want to start a conversation.
Tanner chuckles and keeps his voice low so only I can hear. “Don’t be a prude, Harper. Everyone knows you’re getting fucked probably every way imaginable by now. So you can stop pretending to be the innocent little virgin.”
I swallow down any retort that may try to escape and focus on the notes I’m making. He’s just trying to rile me. If I ignore him, he won’t get what he wants.
“If you even were a virgin,” he scoffs.
Anger wells inside me, but I hold back because that’s what he wants. He wants me to come at him. To give him something to work with. To give him an excuse.
Ms. Sullivan comes into the classroom, and everyone quiets.
“Okay, so now that we’ve reviewed what you’re working on,” she pauses and looks around, “it’s time to work with your partners. Figure out what each of you brings to the table creatively and discover the joy of working with another creative soul.”
Fuck, I don’t want to find out anything about this asshat. But I also can’t afford to fail a project. Not if I want to get into a school like Harvard. How many Ivy League schools will they make me apply to?
I’m not looking forward to a bunch of rejection letters.
“So do you want to draw me a picture of each of their dicks? Since that’s obviously what’s on your mind.” Tanner takes all of me in, like he has every right. “How do you find the time with five dicks to suck constantly? Maybe you can draw me a few of the positions you’ve learned.”
Heat floods my neck and cheeks, but it’s not embarrassment. It’s anger. Fuck this. He’s not a horseman. He can’t just do anything to me without repercussions.
I raise my hand and wait for Ms. Sullivan to come over. She smiles at both of us before she asks, “What do you need, Harper?”
“My partner seems to feel it’s okay to sexually harass me during class. He’s talking about genitals and sexual positions when we should be focusing on our work.” I don’t let my attention go to Tanner.
Ms. Sullivan’s mouth drops open. “Tanner, that’s unacceptable behavior. Please come with me.”
His chair screeches as he pushes it back and grabs his books. When my gaze darts to him, he’s furious. Um, that might have been the wrong move. I swallow as he follows the teacher to her desk.
Nico glances my way and watches Tanner with a scowl.
She speaks quietly with him for a few minutes before she gives him a pass and sends him out the door. Some of the weight leaves me as he walks out. That will bite me in the ass, but fuck that guy if he thinks I’m going to let him fuck with me without doing something about it.
Ms. Sullivan watches him go and then comes and sits in his seat next to me. “Apparently, he’s having difficulties at home. It’s not really anything to do with you.”
Yeah, that’s bullshit, but what can I say? “Ms. Sullivan, he’s sexually harassing me. That has nothing to do with his difficulties at home, and everything to do with the fact he’s not taking this course seriously.”
“He’s never behaved like this before.” Ms. Sullivan glances toward the door with a worried look. “He’s having a rough year with his sister going away. And he got in trouble last year for the drugs found in his locker. He claims it was a prank gone wrong and tested negative for drugs. But the Tanner from my class has always been a good guy. I’ll consider switching him to another partner. Or maybe you can work alone or collaborate by email that I monitor? I’ll find a solution that will work for all of us.”
I give her a weak smile because what else can I do? If he does stay my partner, this project is going to take us forever at the rate we’re going. And after school can’t happen. I refuse to be alone with him.
“He did apologize and say he wants to apologize to you personally. We’ll talk tomorrow about options.” She stands andputs her hand on my shoulder before moving away to monitor the rest of the class.
Do I think he’ll be better tomorrow? Nope. He’s got a bone to pick and can’t exactly face off against the five guys I’m dating.
And I just antagonized him a little bit more. Great. And Ms. Sullivan fell for his sob story. He probably won’t even get detention. But at least today I have some breathing space.
I’ll get our project started so he can just fill in the blanks when he returns.
CHAPTER 38
The Strategy
