Third Person POV“Welcome back to the school, Sarah,” Miss Laurence, head of the board, said as she handed Sarah her curriculum and dorm keys. “You were missed. Let’s try to do better this time around.”“Yes, mam,” Sarah said with a broad smile. “I won’t let you down. I truly apologize for my behavior previously.”“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” she said in return, eyeing Sarah carefully. Sarah had to admit that she was dreading apologizing to Sheryl. But that was the deal. She could returnearly if she gave Sheryl a heartfelt apology. The thought was nauseating for her. But she was going to do itif it meant she could return to the academy. The first thing she did after meeting with the board upon her arrival, was seek Sheryl out. She knew she would most likely be sleeping because it was so late at night. At least, she hoped that she would be that way she could get out of apologizing. Or she would be too tired to remember. But as soon as she realized Sheryl’s dorm room, w
Sheryl’s POV“Sarah?” I said, standing to my feet. “What are you doing here?”“I just wanted to check out the new art gallery that just opened,” Sarah said, raising her brows. “But my question is, what are you doing here?”“I work here,” I explained. “As Cassidy-Ann’s assistant.”“You?” Sarah nearly scoffed. “What would she want with someone like you?” That sounded like an insult, but I ignored it, allowing it to brush off my back. “She liked the portrait I made of Professor Ashton. She said I have real potential and wanted me to start here as her assistant,” I said in return. At that point, the other girls had disappeared to continue their own work. They were Cassidy-Ann’s artists, so they stayed in their own section of the studio, painting for the next art show. Which I knewwas going to be held soon and I would have to help with that. “I see…” Sarah said, almost bitterly.It was like she was disregarding the entire apology she made to me a few days ago. But I knew she wasn’t being
Sheryl’s POV“Absolutely not!!!” Val growled with fury boiling through her. I had to clutch the desk to keep her tameand not lose control. “We will not be introducing these whores to our mate!!”“Maybe he would finally reject us if we did though,” I said, trying to reason with her. Yes, it was painful to think about, but this might be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps this was the pushAshton needed to finally reject us and let us live our lives without the burden of being his mate. My stomach was in a complete knot as I stared around at the eager faces that stared back at me. They were waiting for an answer and Val wasn’t letting me say anything to them. “We know he’s unmated because he hasn’t found his mate yet. We heard through a grapevine that he’s on the market for a chosen mate,” one of the chuckled. “Yeah, that famous singer Bethany is staying with him, trying to get him to choose her. She has a better chance than anybody, but we would also like a shot.”I couldn’t believe what
Sheryl’s POVThere was a part of me that was hoping that Ashton wouldn’t show up. Emily and Kate were especially happy to meet him when I told them he agreed to come. We spent most of the morning setting up the gallery for the show. The caterers arrived just in time toset up their stations for food and drinks and per request, Brody arrived with his guitar. After talking with Brody over time, I discovered that he was huge into music and that it was a passion of his. I heard him playing in the student lounge and I knew he would be perfect entertainment for the art show. “Where should I set up?” He asked, holding up his red velvet guitar case. “I’ll show you,” I said, walking toward a secluded area where a few paintings were set up. “You can set up your station however you want,” I told him with a kind smile. “Hey, Sheryl! Can you help me place napkins around the tables?” Cassidy-Ann asked from across the room.I nodded to her and went to grab the napkins in the back room. As I was in t
Sheryl’s POV What did he just say?I stared up at him with wide and shocked eyes. I could hardly breathe standing in front of him. We were outside and the air was starting to get brisk.It was growing late in the evening and only the faint lighting of the moon, hidden behind a few clouds, lit up the ground around us. “I can’t seem to get you out of my head,” Ashton repeated, keeping his eyes locked on mine. “And that’s a problem.”I wanted to say something to him, anything, but no words were coming into my head. I couldn’t believe he was saying such a thing. “Ashton, I—” Before I could utter a single word more, he stepped closer to me, closing the small gap that sat between us. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck to hold my head in place as he paced hisforehead against mine. His breathing slowed down to match mine and his eyes shut for a brief moment before he openedthem and gazed down at my lips.I wanted to stand on my toes and kiss him; I didn’t know what else to say o
Ashton’s POV“You went to the art show, Ashton?” Connie nearly hissed, stepping in front of me as I sat on the couch in my living room. “What are you even still doing here, Connie?” I muttered, kicking off my shoes. “Didn’t your contract end a week ago?” She pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “Yes,” she answered. “But I don’t have anywhere else to go. I’m in between jobs and my next contract doesn’t start for another couple of weeks.”“So, why can’t you stay elsewhere?”“I don’t know anyone on this part of the continent,” Connie said, shaking her head. “You are my onlyfriend in town, and I’d like to stay close to you. Is that such a crime?”“Are you going to be a pest the entire time?” I asked, but I meant it almost teasingly despite how dry my tone was. Connie could see through my humor right away though and rolled her eyes as she sat beside me. “You are trying to avoid the conversation,” Connie pointed out, reminding me just how well she knew me. “You went to the art show.”
Sheryl’s POV“An election? This student committee was my idea,” I said, staring between all the school board’s faces until my eyes landed on Sarah who stared at me with a smug grin.I could tell that her intentions weren’t pure, and my stomach was forming into a tight knot. “Yes, but it’s a student committee. Meaning we need to give all students a chance to—”“Take my role as the leader?” I interrupted; they all looked startled by my stubbornness. I wasn’ttypically a stubborn person like this, but I was honestly hurt that it was this easy for them to just replace me. Sarah folded her arms across her chest. “I’ve done a lot of wrongs while I’ve been at this school. This gives me the chance to do somethinggood for once,” she said, eyeing me carefully. That smug look was still in her eyes though. She was pulling their strings. She didn’t care about this committee; she just didn’t want me to have it. “If I lose, where does that leave me?”“Worried you’ll lose?” Sarah asked, a grin appea
Ashton’s POV“Today, I’ll be teaching you how to shift in the air,” I announced to the class of students. “It’s all in thelegs. We kick off from the ground and then begin the shift right when the legs are being pushed off the ground.”I demonstrated with ease, and I was met with applause. “This is used mainly for sneak attacks. I want you to try and sneak attack your partners. Trade-off eachround.” Everyone went with their partners to a different section of the arena for some space. Sheryl stood in the distance, waiting for me because I’m her partner. We hadn’t spoken since my confession at the art show, and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to talk aboutthis again. It was a moment of weakness on my part, and it wasn’t something I was going to allow tohappen again. Connie was right the other day when she said I needed to stay away from Sheryl. It was for her own good. But her tight yoga pants and a tank top that she wore, hugged her body and fit around her every curveso perfectly tha