Chapter 54: XXIV. Reassurance-3

"Nothing?" laughed Shea. "He was sexually harassing my girlfriend. He's lucky I didn't do worse." "Is that a threat?" Josh turned on Shea. I could kill Shea. You know what, fuck it. Nobody was losing their scholarship, and words like sexual harassment were not being thrown around over some stupid misunderstanding. "Principal Baynard, let me explain," I pleaded. "Go ahead, New Girl," he allowed tiredly. Okay. "Josh likes Zoey, and Zoey likes Josh, but she can't admit it because her nose is stuck up so high in the sky that she can tell if it's going to rain tomorrow. Josh and I are friends, and I am dating Shea. Zoey keeps messing Josh around, so we thought it would be a good idea to make her jealous in order to provoke her into admitting her feelings. I thought that meant Josh carrying things for me, but Josh obviously thought that meant kissing me. Josh kissed me in the cafeteria which Shea saw. Shea got angry and behaved terribly, but nobody was sexually harassed, and nobody ought to be suspended." Principal Baynard blinked a few times as he absorbed the information, I just gave him. "Oh, I don't get paid enough for this. Behave like second graders again and I'll send you back to elementary school. Hackett, you keep your nose clean. I don't want you missing any games. Miss Eckhart … give my regards to your parents." And their bank account. "Braverman, we've given you a lot of leeway because of what's gone on at home these last few years, and we haven't needed to speak to each other. Something like this happens again and you'll be suspended. And New Girl –" "Sara," I interjected. "Sara, you get one of my players in trouble again and you'll be suspended, too." I frowned. Was that even legal? "Get out," he ordered, pointing to the door. All four of us then filed out of his office, past the front desk, and out into the main school foyer. We all stood facing each other, not entirely sure what to do next. I wanted to yell at Shea. I wanted to yell at Josh. I wanted to yell at Zoey. But we were silent. Shea broke the silence first but uttering one word to Zoey. "Him?" was all he said. Zoey barely moved her jaw, but that was as good a nod as he was going to get. I took Shea's hand and led him away, leaving Josh and Zoey by themselves. Shea and I walked around the corner to an empty corridor and waited to give them privacy. Shea sat down on the ground and leaned against a locker. I stood in front of him. "Shea, seriously," I sighed. "Sara, you're not marked," Shea retorted, before screwing up his face. "Or I'm not, and … it's just a biological reaction that I have to any threats when we haven't … when you're not …" "Shea, you can't blame behaving like a caveman on genetics." I paused, looking down at his twisted facial expression. "What?" I asked softly, sitting down beside him. He turned his head to me, his dark eyes boring into mine. "I told you that I felt insecure about you and me. I told you that," he said quietly. "You can't know what it meant to me to hear you say that you love me. But the fear is still there. You're out there, able to fall in love with anyone, and there's nothing I can do about it." His voice was low and vulnerable. "Seeing Josh today, seeing him kiss you," he shuddered, "it was just an epic reminder of how temporary this might be. I'm sorry for behaving like a jackass. I'll apologise to Josh when I don't feel like killing him anymore." I leaned over and kissed Shea softly. He reciprocated just as tenderly. "I told you I love you and I meant it. You know this is very new to me, and I don't say it lightly. You need to start feeling a bit more secure, because I doubt a cop is going to be as forgiving as Principal Baynard if you lose it at some guy on the street. You're eighteen. Legally an adult. I have no desire to participate in any conjugal visits." I was trying to make him laugh and I succeeded. He smiled at me. "You told me that the tattoos are marks," I recalled our conversation from Saturday. "I want you to tell me about them." He had avoided this purposefully. Shea nodded. "They're naturally occurring," he said, repeating what he had told me before. "You are officially mated as a pair once the mark appears, and it will only appear after you … uh … mate essentially." Shea pinched the bridge of his nose. "I feel a heightened level of threatened because we're not properly mated, and I'm not pressuring you, I promise I'm not, it's just how it is." I felt really stupid then. How had I not put that together? It was really obvious if you thought about it. "Say something," he urged. I stole a glance at him, and he was staring at me worriedly. I knew he didn't want to freak me out. But it was hard not to be freaked out when all of this was so new. "I understand the principle," I said carefully. "You understand the principle?" he repeated, raising his eyebrows. "That's all you've got to say?" "Why is it so bad that Josh is Zoey's mate?" I asked, changing the subject. "I understand he is a human, but so am I. What is the difference?" "Sara," groaned Shea. "I get that sex is an awkward thing for you to think about, but you've got to be able to tell me what you're thinking, and how you're feeling." Shea slouched against the lockers. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of how to answer his question. My only answer would be that I wasn't ready. I didn't know when I would be ready. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel. But I was guessing that embarrassed and self-conscious weren't the emotions you were supposed to feel when you were ready. As if fate was listening, the bell rang, and movement began to sound as people left the cafeteria and were on their way back to their lockers. "I'll see you later," I whispered, and I kissed his cheek, before jumping up off the ground and hurrying away. I was a total chicken, I knew it. --- Officially back to work tomorrow boo hoo