Page 113 of The Other Side of Green

Nodding, he dropped his head onto my shoulder, breathing heavily against my shirt. “The worst bit wasn’t what Luca did to my dad,” he paused here, old language and habit coming face to face with new knowledge. My stomach squeezed. He could now be talking about my dad, and there was a chance I’d probably never know the truth.

“It was you. The thought that I’d break a promise to you, that I’d stand there and kiss you, knowing that I wouldn’t see you again.” Jack lifted his face. “Every kiss I ever gave you, no matter how wrong and corrupt, was a true promise of my feelings. The thought of never tasting that again.” His eyes met mine. “It broke me, Lyra. Broke me far worse than any cut or bruise, punch or kick. I broke your music the night I left. Well, in truth, it just broke me clean in two. I haven’t liked myself very much since.”

A tear slipped down my cheek and he swiped it with his thumb. “You know I composed a song for you, as soon as my fingers touched a piano again.”

“Really?”

“Does that sound cheesy?”

“It sounds amazing and I think I want to hear it right now.” I nodded past his shoulder to the keyboard.

“Don’t be silly, it was rubbish. I haven’t played it in years.”

“You heard me screech scales like a robot for years.”

Jack snorted and buried his face in my hair. “What do you mean for years? You were still doing that weeks ago.”

“Hey!” Laughing, I pulled him to me and slanted my lips against his. He settled into the kiss, hands on my hips, pulling me down until I could have melted into his embrace. “I love you, Jack.”

His eyes shone bright as he pulled away. “And I love you.”

“But you need to talk to me… tell me what’s making you angry.” I quirked a grin. “Other than Alex and his violin playing.”

“Stop it.” He growled, kissing me again until my breath rushed with little pants.

“Busy tonight?” I mumbled against his mouth.

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“With you.”

“Oh.”

He laughed, clutching my close. “Although… aren’t you working?”

Her eyes widened. “Maybe you should come with me. My boss is a bit of a creep; keeps staring at me from the other end of the bar.”

He kissed me again, always hungry for more. “Sounds terrible. I should definitely be there.”

My cell rang in my bag making us both jump and we stared at one another for a fraction of a second, the buzz of my cell cutting off some pretty stupid behavior… we were on campus for God’s sake… anyone could open the door at any moment.

Jack lifted me off his lap, face slipping back to grim restraint. I sighed and turned for my backpack.

“It’s Luca,” I said, but Jack was already leaving, slipping out into the hallway and leaving me behind.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jack

Stupid. Stupid.

I paced down the stairs, torn between leaving her without a goodbye and unwilling to risk us being seen together. Greene had made it more than clear I wasn’t to work with Lyra. Coming out of a practice room with her was never going to look good.

“Hey, Jack.” I turned at the call of my name when I got outside, finding Shaun Parks walking toward the building.

“Hey, Shaun.” Jesus, I couldn’t even smile at the guy who got to do Lyra’s practice every morning—I mean sure he was thirty-five, spreading around the middle, and had a thing for savory pastries, but still, he got to spend time with Lyra and my jealousy was on high alert level one.