Watercolour Smile Read Online Free

hesitated, on the brink of backing awkwardly out of the room.
    “My student,” Quillan finally said, standing from the desk. “I told you I had someone to tutor this period, Sam.”
    The woman dismissed me with a turn. It wasn’t a rude gesture; she just didn’t seem to think that my presence was of any consequence. She laid her hand on Quillan’s arm, and his eyes flicked over her shoulder for the briefest moment, before focussing back on her face.
    “Just call me, okay?” Her tone was low, her voice pleading. “We’ll talk about it.”
    She walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
    “Sorry,” I managed. “I should have knocked.”
    Quillan seemed to relax, and he reached up to loosen his tie. “Don’t worry about it. What’s this about a date?”
    I glanced back at the door, an uneasy feeling trying to claw its way into my belly. I shoved it away, almost viciously. I refused to feel jealous about Quillan, even if fighting off the feeling caused my knees to momentarily knock together and a short wave of dizziness to radiate through my skull. There was a reason he had been avoiding me lately. We had kissed, and as much as it was supposed to have fused us together, it succeeded in creating a giant chasm between us. I could see it now, in the space that stretched from him to me. Cabe or Noah would have already been reaching for my hands, my shoulders—they constantly needed to touch me. Quillan had his arms folded loosely over his chest, and his eyes were wary, perhaps tuned into what he could sense of my inner turmoil.
    “Who was that?” I asked, indicating the door.
    If there was a girl wanting to get to know Quillan, maybe that was a good thing. He could use her to keep up appearances. I mentally shook myself, pulling my thoughts up with a rough admonishment. Maybe he liked her . Unbidden, my hand curved around the watch I wore, fingers tapping the metal. Would he ask for it back? Some part of me would be relieved, but a bigger part of me would be anxious. How would a girlfriend fit into this equation? As much as I didn’t harbour any romantic feelings for Quillan, I was well aware that he spent too much time with me, that he often had to be there for me in a way that a girlfriend wouldn’t be happy about. Also, there was the not-so-insignificant fact that I could feel any sudden spike of emotion that he had, if he was close enough.
    “Sam and I were involved, in a way, before I moved to Seattle.”
    I threw my hands up as my previous anxiety melted away. “Another ex-girlfriend!” My voice was only half-heartedly exasperated, especially since this wasn’t a problem that I usually had with Quillan—and Sam hadn’t seemed as mean as the girls I usually encountered. “Thank god Silas is scary as all hell, I don’t know how many I can handle. I swear they pop up every time I turn a corner. Poison has taken to pointing them out, like she’s playing Where’s Waldo, except that Waldo would be the girl that those boys haven’t slept with.”
    Quillan’s laugh sounded with a sudden burst, my words acting as a needle to pierce the barrier on his usual control. “You won’t have that problem with Silas.” He swallowed his laughter as suddenly as it had appeared, but I could see it trembling at the corners of his mouth.
    “Why?” I ventured. “Is he gay?”
    “No.”
    “Is he a robot?”
    Another laugh. “No, Seph.”
    “Did Weston neuter him?”
    Quillan blinked. “Ah… wow. No.”
    “Fine. I give up. Why won’t I have that problem with Silas?”
    “He’s never been in a proper relationship. At least… not that we know of.”
    “He’s a virgin?”
    For a moment, it seemed that Quillan wasn’t sure whether to laugh again or not. He stared at me, his jaw dropping incrementally, and I could have sworn that there was colour high in his cheeks. “What? He, er… We’re a little older than you, Seph…”
    “I know,” I said, too quickly. “I know…”
    “I have