Adler | The Aces of St.Sinclair BOOK 1.

Influence | A EIGHT

I'd experienced another stroke of luck as I got an early sighting of Shaun first thing Monday morning while heading to registration.

He was accompanied by two other boys but actually approached me to start a conversation. It seemed we were moving up from being merely geography acquaintances and I did my best to hide my excitement.

He talked about what he'd done over the weekend and then I did the same but of course, left out the whole unexpected visit. I hadn't even mentioned it to Ashton or Liam yet because I was having too much confusing thoughts on it all.

Our discussion moved along and not that I was counting every second (okay, I slightly was) but it had succeeded the length of our previous ones when Shaun received a rather vehement shoulder bump from a boy passing by.

"Watch it." Shaun snapped. It was the first time I'd heard his gentle voice take that kind of tone.

"Chill, mate. It was just an accident," said the boy. Yet the plain smirk did nothing but amplify that it was deliberate.

Shaun scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Fine, be a twat about it. That's nothing new." Mr. Deliberate rolled his eyes and then they landed me. His grin stretched. "Well let me at least say you've improved your standards. Bravo. Nice buns,” he said in regards to my hairdo.

“Um, thanks.”

“I bet the ones at the back are even better.” His leering gaze raked over to my lower behind.

"Piss off, Hess." Shaun scowled. "She doesn't want your filthy hands anywhere near her."

"When did you become an expert on what girls want?" He retorted with a snide tilted head. Those bold blue eyes spared me one last glance with a wink and continued down the corridor.

The deep look of contempt was still vivid on Shaun's face for a few seconds as he watched the strange bloke descend and he tore his gaze, shaking his head. "Sorry about him, Stevie."

"It's okay," I replied, even if I didn't have a clue on what on earth had just happened.

"Don't mind anything he says, he flirts at any girl in sight."

I paused at that moment. Flirt? That rude guy was flirting at me? Jesus. It was slightly disappointing... or perhaps it differed between boys. What would Shaun flirting be like? I wondered.

Shaun misinterpreted my sudden silence in a different context. "N-Not that you're just any girl. I'm sure tons of guys would make a pass but, I mean—"

"It's alright. I get what you mean," I assured him.

Relief eased the tension on his shoulders as he exhaled while I took a mental note of how adorable he was when flustered. "Okay, good. It's just... that guy only has one intention when it comes to girls. I don't want you getting tangled up by him."

I smiled, sheepish. "Understood. Is um, there any more to it?"

"Mmm?"

"I got the hint that you share some kind of history with him.”

Shaun averted his gaze. "Yeah, I'd just rather not talk about it. Sorry."

"It's fine," I said.

"I should um, get going now. See you later?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Our record breaking conversation ceased there and I watched longingly as he departed. Admittedly, I was disappointed he was keeping the issue with that Hess person private but I was sure he had his reasons. I could respect that. I wasn't someone he knew too well yet. However, I kept optimistic at the fact he was being protective over me. That meant something, right?