The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 515

He laughs a little, nodding to me and running forward to catch up with the other boys as I do my very best to catch up. I mean, I fail…

But hell, it’s good to try.

About twenty minutes later my spirits are quiet a bit lower and my feet are dragging, a little, as I haul myself into the breakfast. I mean, with the adrenaline gone, the lost hours of sleep and the workouts I’ve been going through morning and night definitely take their presence known.

Jackson – fresh, clean, and already seated at the table with Ben – frowns as I draw closer to the table with Rafe and Jesse following close behind. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I say, sending him a smile as I reach for the coffee even before I sit down, pouring myself a very full cup. “Just sleepy is all – trying to get some energy back for the day.”

He frowns at me as I sit and raise the hot mug to my lips. “I don’t like that, Ari.”

“You don’t like anything that’s not Ari sitting happy, safe, and spoiled, Jacks,” Ben murmurs, yawning himself as he pushes the eggs around on his plate.

“That’s not true,” Jacks replies, frowning over at Ben. “I like when she’s tough.”

“Watch your pronouns, buddy,” Ben says, pointing a fork at Jacks with a wink. “And I know. I’m just teasing you.”

Jacks blushes a little at his gender slip, but he nods to Ben and turns back to me. “Do you mind if I…try something?”

I frown at him and sit up straighter. “Like what?”

“I’ve had this idea since the Examination,” he murmurs, and then he glances around the room and lowers his voice. I look around too, noting that Rafe and Jesse are distracted as well, speaking to Ben. “And then again in magic class. Um, I need to be touching you though, for it to work.”

Instantly, I raise my hand towards him but he just frowns at it. “Ari, I already slipped up once today – let’s not also hold hands in the dining hall to further raise suspicion.”

I laugh, dropping my hand and shaking my head at him. “All right, what do you have in mind.”

“Just…sit still,” he murmurs, looking down at his plate and casually raising a hand to pat me on the back – but high enough that his fingers touch my neck, his skin laying flat against mine.

I stare down at my plate, weirdly anxious, sitting quite still. For a moment, nothing happens.