The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 79

“What, you’re not going to show me!?” Luca presses, laughing and reaching again for my schedule.

“No way!” I shout, turning so that my back is to the arm of the couchand I’ve got my feet between us, ready to kick him away if I need to. I grew up with brothers and cousins, after all – I know how to do a couch war. “I didn’t even get a look at it yet!”

“Well, then just tell me what your track is –“

“I cannot,” I say, holding my paper close so that it mysteriously covers half my face. “It is…a state secret.”

Luca laughs again, leaning forward. “You spy,” he hisses, and then quick as a snake he snatches the paper from my face, immediately leaning away and holding the paper far out of my reach.

“Give it back!” I demand, laughing, and throw myself after him, landing half in his lap as I reach for it. Luca laughs hard, but holds his long arm even across Rafe’s body. Rafe, grinning and obliging, snatches the paper out of Luca’s hand and gives it to Jesse.

“Not fair!” I shout, glaring at my brother and my cousin, even though I’m still laughing. “I didn’t even get to look at it yet –“

“Well you’re a shit spy, Ari,” Jesse says, grinning at me and lining my schedule up with his and Rafe’s on his lap, “if you don’t get the information and keep it to yourself for more than ten seconds.”

“Well, I haven’t learned anything about being a spy yet, Jesse,” I say, rolling my eyes at him even as I grin. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Congrats, Ari,” Rafe says, grinning at me. “I know you wanted Espionage Track.”

“Seriously, Shrimp, congratulations,” Luca says, smiling down at me, and as I turn my face to him I realize that I’m…well, I’m kind of still sprawled over his lap, aren’t I?

I blush beet red, mumbling something about how I’m happy too, and do my best to gracefully crawl off of my mate and back to the corner of the couch.

Luca grins at me, his smile widening as he notices my awkwardness and my blush. “You’ll be great at it – at least you’ll definitely be able to squeeze into all sorts of tiny spaces.”

I prove him right by pressing myself deep into the corner of the couch, and when I glance to my side to I see Ben grinning at me in absolute wicked delight. I give him a dirty scowl, which just makes him laugh harder.

“Looks like we’re all teamed up tomorrow afternoon,” Jesse says, looking up at me and Rafe with raised eyebrows, leaning over to pass our schedules back.

“What, all of us?” I ask, taking my paper from Luca when he passes it to me, glad to have a minute to look at it. “Are you guys Espionage too?”

“No, we’re both Warrior,” Jesse says, leaning back in his chair and studying his schedule. “Ben, do you have a weird unnamed class in the afternoon with the three of us? What track are you, anyway?”

“I’m Ambassador,” Ben says, studying his schedule, “and no, I’ve got diplomacy every afternoon this week. Weird, though, that you guys have a cross-track class. I didn’t think those existed.”

I study my schedule, surprised and interested to see that Jesse is right. Almost every morning this week I’ve got Chemistry and Marksmanship, but twice this week – tomorrow included – I’ve got an unnamed seminar in Room 1260.

“You’re not in it either, Luca?” I ask, lifting my chin to peer over at his sheet. Seeing my interest, he hands his schedule to me and scooches closer so that we can study the papers together. He presses his shoulder to mine to do so, and I pretend not to notice the tingles that immediately flood my left side. I guess he does too.

“Nope,” Luca says quietly, his eyes moving back and forth between our schedules. “Looks like we don’t have a single thing together, Shrimp.” He sighs and sits back, studying me with a sad twist to his mouth. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”

“I’ll remember you fondly,” I reply with mock seriousness, making him burst into a grin.

“Nah, you guys will see me all the time. With a sweet place like this?” Luca leans forward, grabbing his unfinished dinner off the coffee table and starting to dig in again. “I’ll be here all the time.”

I smile a little bit at the prospect, leaning down to pick up my own unfinished plate.

“Someone light a fire,” Jesse says, leaning back in his chair and still studying his schedule with interest. “Let’s get cozy. After all, I heard someone say there was coffee cake.”

“Best coffee cake in the world,” Luca says, nodding towards the pastry box as I take my last bite and move eagerly to the fire, starting to re-stack the logs so that they suit my liking a bit more. “You’ve all got to try some. Nan would die, if she knew a Prince and a Duke were eating something she baked…”