I could see that it must run in the family. “Well, I'm not looking to lose focus. I’m here to work.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue and sounded just as acerbic to my ear.

Xander scrutinized me again. “Who wounded our Little Bird?”

I ground my teeth. “Nobody. And I'm not a little bird.”

“Whatever you say.” He sipped his beer then said, “But I saw you come down from the roof together, and then I saw him dancing with you. Well, I should say more like slowly fucking you on the dance floor, so I assumed you two had a thing going. I’m a little protective.”

Fury bubbled just under the surface of my skin. I considered throwing my Guinness into his face, but then he was a male, so that had probably been done before and wouldn’t faze him. I also considered grabbing the pitcher and bashing it into his head like I'd seen done in movies. But it was unlikely it was breakaway glass, and I doubted Faith had that kind of bail money. Besides, I was way too cute for jail. Instead, I leveled a gaze at him. “He was the birthday boy, and he asked me to dance. So I did. Haven’t you ever danced before?”

His gaze flickered to my lips and he leaned in an inch closer as if to whisper a secret to me. “Maybe you should dance with me and see if I’ve managed to pick up the skill.”

Was that flirting? It sounded like flirting. He had the nerve to act like I wanted something from Alexi, and then asked me to dirty dance with him? Okay, maybe I would bash his head in with the pitcher, breakaway glass or not. “Maybe, except I don’t engage in inappropriate relationships with my teachers. It’s not how I roll.”

He kept silent, and I promptly turned my attention back to Milo. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ilani fanning herself. She was sure to have some questions later.

For what felt like hours, I kept my back resolutely to Xander. I knew he was still there and knew he still watched me simply because the hairs on the back of my neck stayed at attention. Then suddenly, the razor-sharp attention was gone. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew he'd stopped focusing on me. He didn’t attempt to speak to me again until I grabbed my coat to catch the last bus heading toward Chiswick.

“Going home so soon?”

“Well, I do have this professor with a stick up his ass, so I have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get him some decent pictures.”

He smirked. “This professor of yours sounds like a pompous dick. You should have him sacked immediately.”