Wayward Son (Jensen Family #3) (10 page)

“I lost it
.
” was all he
said.

“That much is obvious, did Quinn provoke you?”

“He did but that’s beside the point, I should ha
ve
a better handle on my temper by now, I know better than to react to people like
him
.
”

“Yes, you should know better, what exactly happened Gavin?”

“He started going on about me helping this kid out yesterday at work
,
which annoyed me but I ignored it, I
know I did the right thing, then he started on about my record which got to me,
I didn’t think anyone knew about that
.
”

“Well, the faculty know
,
  but
that of course is confidential.
O
ther than you and your family, I wa
sn’t aware anyone else knew
.
”

“H
e called me a common criminal
.
I can handle
that, it was just a hell of a shock that he knew. T
hat’s why I blew, there wasn’t a build up, it was just like he’s flicked
a switch. What happens now Sir?”

“Technically, I should
report this to the Dean
but as you
were provoked and
didn’t actually cause any physical harm to Quinn, I think I will just
dream up a suitable punishment for you. You will have to apologise to Quinn
,
” he stopped when Gavin pulled a face
and his shoulders v
isibly slumped, “I didn’t say you
had to mean it
,
” he continued
“I am
also
going to call
your father as I believe he has asked to be kept informed of your behaviour,
how does that sound?”

“That sounds fair
, I would have told my Dad when I got
home, thank y
ou Sir”

“Come and see me at the end of the day, I’ll let you know what I expect
you to do as punishment
.
”

“Ok
,
” Gavin rose to
leave.

“Gavin, don’t let anything like this happen again, you are a bright young
man and incidents like this could put an end to y
our
academic path
.
”

“It was a momentary lapse Sir, it won’t happen again, I’m aware I’m here
on thin ice, I won’t get kicked out over so
meone like Quinn.”

“I’m
glad to hear it, come back at four.
”

Gavin was very relieved when the be
ll rang for
lunch. Ther
e
had been
a few sideways glances from people
in his Biology lesson
that had
seen him blow up
. But he had also been
patted on the back
by a few people who expressed the view
that they were please
d
to see someone
stand up to Quinn
. Grabbing a plate of lasag
ne and an apple, Gavin sat at a free table, trying to
distance himself from his friends for a
while until he was
in complete control of his temper. The
chair next to him moved as he was texting Paul, he looked
up
to see Angel sitting beside him.

“Angel, no
t a good idea right now
,
” he
gently warned
her.

“Actually, I think it’s a fantastic idea. Are you ok?”

“I’m fine
,
” he replied
going back to his text message
.
“Hadn’t you
better go and comfort Quinn?”

“He’s playing tennis and is hardly the one who needs com
forting
,
” she answered.

“I don’t need your sympathy
,
” he growled.

“I’m not offering it, I came to apologise
.
P
ut the phone down Gavin please, there’s something I need to tell you
.” S
he placed her hands over his, lowering
them and his phone, he looked into
her eyes, his
frown didn’t escape her notice
.
“It’s my fault Quinn knows about the little girl and your criminal
record
,
” she gabbled.

“What?”
H
is frown
deepened “How would you know about either of those things?”
As he asked the question, the answer dawned
on
him.
“Shit, I work for your Mum, terrific
.
”

“Mum was singing your praises about yesterday and it just slipped out
about
your record and I’m so sorry I told Quinn, I
clearly can’t trust him
.
”

“Why would you tell him?”

“He’s my boyfriend, he promised me
he wouldn’t
say anything, I’m so kicking his arse later
,
” she griped then noticed Gavin’s grin.

“You are going to kick his
arse?” H
e asked.

“I most certainly am. I’m really sorry Gavin, I wish there was some way I
could make it up to you
.
”

“Well,” he mused
.
“You did say
you’d help me out with reading music
,
” he smiled, unable to remain cross with her and seeing an opportunity to
spend some alone time with her.

“Yes I did, ok, you’re on, sorry
,
” she said again.

“Stop saying sorry, it was a genuine mistake I
hope,
just do me a favour, if you find anything else out about me, ask me about it
and don’t tell Quinn
.
”

“Ok
,
” she agreed
.
“Can we change the subject?”

“Sure
.
”

“Did you talk to Kiera?”

“I did, she’s cool with just friends with benefits,” he saw her grimac
e
.
“I know you
don’t approve Angel
and that you think I’m using her, but
just because it’s
a casual
thing
, doesn’t mean I don’t care about her, I
do,
she’s important to me and
I’d kill anyone who hurt her
.
”

“She said exactly the same thing and although I d
on’t get it
,
I’m actually ok
with it
.
”

“What’s not to get?” H
e asked.

“Put it this way, if I was having sex with you, I would want to be in a
relationship with you
.
”

“Maybe we can explore that avenue some time
,
” he grinned.

“Stop it
,
” she chided
“I’m with
Quinn
.
”

“Lucky Quinn
,
” he groaned.

“Not after today he won’t be
,
” she said
.
“Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I
was hugely impressed with the way you dealt with that little girl yesterday
,
” she told him.

“More intel from your Mum?” H
e asked.

“No I was the
re, I saw you.
A
ctually, I saw
quite a lot of you
,
” she blushed
slightly as she remembered how he looked without his shirt
.
“As I said, hugely impressed
,
”

“Just doing my job
,
” he shrugged.

“You were off duty; you went above and beyond what your job expects
of you
.
”

“Hang on
,
” Gavin sat up
straight
.
“You were
there? At the pool? You mean I missed seeing you in a bikini?” he asked.

Angel decided to play along
.
“Oh yes, you
missed all this in two tiny bits of material
,
” she giggled.

Gavin closed his eyes, his
imagination running
wild
.
“God damn it
,
” he mo
aned “Do you go every Sunday?” H
e asked.

“Maybe
,
” she replied
coyly.

“How tiny was the bikini exactly
?” H
e asked, playing along.

“Postage stamp size
,
” she confirmed.

He groaned again
.
“At least give
me a heads up next time you decide to bare all
,
” he teased. The bell rang.

“We’d better make a move
.
” Angel left her
chair.

Gavin glanced at his lap “I’ll catch you up
.
”

“Ah gross
.
” Angel laughed.

He grinned and bounced to his feet
.
“Thanks
for putting me in a good mood
.
”

“No problem, your wish is my
command
.
” she bowed slightly.

“You may regret saying that
.
”

At the end of the school day Gavin meandered to Mr. Benson’s office,
stepping through the open door, he stopped dead and began to back
out of the door when he saw the teacher deep in discussion
.
Mr. Benson
saw Gavin and beckoned for him to come in, turning back to Angel he
said;

“Angel, my dear, you know this and I’m afraid I simply can’t spare any
more time on this today
.
”