Tasting Red: A Spicy Red Riding Hood Retelling by Holly Roberds

Author:Holly Roberds [Roberds, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

A Quick-ie Study Break

BREXLEY

Red emits a growl of frustration and starts to slam her book around before massaging her temples.

Yet again, we’re back in the dusty library. Red has taken two practice tests. I peeked at the scores, she’s making passing grades, but apparently, it’s not enough.

Tomorrow is Monday which not only means she has classes, she has two finals. One she is prepared for, but the other she’s close to tearing her hair out over.

“Why are you so freaked out about this test? It’s not like it’s the end of the world if you don’t do well.”

She turns to me, her mist-colored eyes flashing like flint. “If I fail this class, I have to repeat it.”

“So?”

“So?” she echoes in outrage. “I’m behind enough as it is after dropping out of FFA. I failed most of my classes there and I refuse to be the same loser I was.”

“How can you blame yourself for failing a mage academy when you have no magic? That’s as ridiculous as it is unrealistic.”

Red fiddles with her septum ring and mutters, “It wasn’t all magic application. I flunked the magic theory and history classes as well.”

That takes me aback. I’ve never seen someone so fanatical about their studies. Red is no dummy, so why did she do so poorly then?

I say the next part very carefully. “At the risk of being skinned alive, do you maybe have a learning disability or something?”

She drops her hand, as her mouth opens then closes like a fish out of water. “No, I don’t have a learning disability. In my defense, this financial auditing class is one of the hardest. And the professor is nicknamed the dragon because she is so ruthless. And the FFA was difficult because there were,” she halts as if afraid of revealing too much. She finally lands on the word she can live with, “distractions."

“Hunter?” I ask.

Instead of confirming or denying, she nervously licks her lips.

“Can you cut that out? You lick your lips more than any other person I’ve met, and it’s annoying as hell.”

It also makes me want to kiss you senseless, every faefucking time.

Her brows lift in surprise even as she tightens her lips. “Sorry, it’s a habit I thought I’d broken.”

Now I feel bad for making her self-conscious about it. What is this girl doing to me?

“Okay,” I say, switching to business mode, “what’s going to help you feel better about this test? Do you need a tutor or what?”

“No.” She turns back to her laptop with a furrowed brow. “I can do this. It’s just . . . my focus is all over the place. I’m so freaked out by the idea of repeating the past. My anxiety keeps getting in the way until I can’t even see straight.”

Now this, I can handle.

“Well then number one, you need to lay off the caffeine.” I close her laptop and slide her books into her bag.

Red scowls. “Bite me.”

“And number two.” I pull her to her feet.

“I said no touching,” she says breathlessly, and I can tell she is getting worked up again.

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