His Moon, My Alpha

The Game

“So, what is your next class?” I ask Gabe, peering at him as he walks along side me. I expect him to pull out a piece of paper with his schedule. Instead, he squints at the back of his right hand and replies, “hmm, looks like I am supposed to assist Señora Lopez with her introductory Spanish class this period. Then it’s lunch, followed by study hall, and English Literature.”

“Oh!”

“Is something wrong?” His brows furrow slightly making him look genuinely worried that I might be upset. That thought makes my heart flutter.

“Um, no. I have Mrs. López for Spanish this period. So, yeah. Nothing’s wrong. Actually, I was just thinking since we’re going to the same place that we don’t have to rush to class..”

“Oh?” He abruptly stops and flashes a quick flirty grin at me.

“Well, I just mean if we’re going to be spending half of our school day together for the whole of this semester, then we should probably get to know each other a bit.” I’m hoping he doesn’t hear the eagerness in my voice. I’m still attempting to play it calm and cool, but with him grinning at me like that, while standing close enough for me to feel the heat coming off his body, and not to mention smelling freakishly amazing, it’s impossible.

I’ve unconsciously managed to move closer towards him again. My face is painfully close to his chest and as I look up into his deep mocha eyes, he chuckles.

“Yes, mi amor. We certainly should get to know one another. The first thing you should know about me, is I love a good game. That being said, would you be willing to play twenty questions with me? I think it would help us get more familiar.”

I clear my throat and force my self to take a step away from him as I answer, “interesting idea. Actually, my friend CC loves games as well. So I’ve gotten pretty used to spending my free time playing whatever she’s into at that time.” I rub my chin, pretending to mull it over. “Hmmm.. Yes, I will play. I do think there needs to be a clear set of rules.”

We begin walking towards Mrs. Lopez’s classroom and he replies, “okay, so you’re a rules girl. Good to know.”

I roll my eyes. “Well, yeah.. society needs rules. Order. Purpose. Without all of that, we would descend into chaos.”

I ignore him as he chuckles and I continue, “I assume this means you’re NOT a rules guy?”

“No. I am definitely not a rules guy. I’m not all chaos. I’m more ‘stick-it-to-the-man,’ ya know?”

Okay, so he’s a little bit of a bad boy.. As that thought passes through me, causing chills (not from cold or fear, but from excitement and anticipation), I realize we have reached the classroom. I stop abruptly right outside of the door, with Gabriel planting himself directly in front of me.

“So I’m guessing this is our stop.” I nod slowly, feeling that same emptiness and disappointment, at the idea that our conversation will be on hold, as I felt in my dream.

He continues, “okay, so how about we come up with our ground rules during our spare moments in class, and then we can pick up from there after.”

I nod my agreement, and we head into the room right before the final bell rings.

After we have each settled into our respective seats, his at the front of the room to the right of Mrs. Lopez’s desk, and mine in the back of the middle row, I pull a loose sheet of paper from my binder and and begin doodling. The idea was to make a list of rules for our game, as well as a plan for what I wanted to ask him. And, I mean, I start out doing just that.

1. We must answer truthfully

2. We are allowed 2 passes for any questions that we are not comfortable answering

3. We must also answer our own questions, which will not count as one of the other person’s allotted 20 questions

4. The game will be ongoing until each person receives answers to all of their allotted questions

And then I start to think about Gabriel. I try to think about what I would ask him. I want to know everything about him. Where is he from? Do his tattoos have a special meaning? Where the hell does he get that amazing cologne, which is still just as intoxicating from across the room? All of these are pretty good questions, I think to myself. But then I remember my dream. And I wonder if he knows about it. I mean, that would be impossible. He can’t know that I dreamt about him. Except.. what if he does. What if that’s why he wants to ‘get to know one another.’ But that’s crazy.

I look over to where he is sitting at the front of the class looking bored while Mrs. Lopez tells us about her educational background and how great this class will be. He meets my eyes and a small, amused smile plays at his lips. When he looks at me, I don’t feel like he has any hidden agenda with me. I am aware that I don’t really know him, but when he looks at me I feel warm and safe and special.

I look back down at my paper as I feel my cheeks burn, crimson. Even without looking back up, I can feel his eyes on me. And the image of his beautiful face from my dream is stuck in my head. I’m memorizing the perfect tanned color of his skin, the little laugh line under his almond eyes, and that adorable crooked tooth that shows when he smiles.

“Señorita Jefferies?”

“Um, sorry. What?” I ask as Mrs. Lopez abruptly ends my day dreaming.

“I said, it looks like everyone has already paired up for the project. You can go with my TA over there. He will be able to help you.”

“Oh, yes ma’am,” I reply and gather my pencil and binder without really looking. It’s like some magnetic force keeps pulling Gabe and me together. It’s definitely strange, but I’m not going to argue. I make my way to the front of the class, and an immediate sense of relief floods over me as I get within arms reach of him.

“Um, hey again.”

“It seems like someone was not paying attention and is now stuck with the TA for a partner,” Gabriel laughs up at me from his seat.

“Yup, what a hassle for that someone!” What the hell is going on with me? I just flirted. I don’t really know how to flirt, but it seems to just be coming out naturally with Gabriel. “Ahem,” I deliberately clear my throat, attempting to focus on the task at hand. Except I don’t actually know what we’re doing..

“So, what is this project we are supposed to be working on?”

“Well, you are to make introductions with a classmate in Spanish. Then, before this period is over, you will act out those introductions in front of the class. Once you are ready, just let Señora Lopez know, and you can leave once you’re done.”

“Oh. That sounds simple enough.”

“Indeed. But I am curious.. what were you working on so intently over there?” As he asks this, he quickly slips the paper I had been doodling on from my binder. His eyes immediately light up.

I try to snatch the paper back from him, but he is faster than me. He smiles broadly and says, “Ah. Can’t stop thinking about me either hunh?”

I automatically blush because it’s true, but then I get a better look at my paper. Underneath the rules that I wrote out, I had drawn him. I had drawn the vision of him from my dream. It’s his face, sketched out in pencil. Despite not having color other than graphite, it’s a surprisingly accurate depiction of him. The depth of his mocha eyes, the laugh line underneath, the sensuous curve of the smile usually playing his lips as he looks at me.

He must see the shock on my face, because he sets the paper down and says seriously, “I’m glad to see that you are as affected by me as I am by you.” He tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear as he says this, his hand briefly brushing against my cheek. And that little bit of contact feels amazing. His hand is warm and rough, but gentle and sends little pulses of energy from my cheek to my toes.

He suddenly pulls his hand away and turns my drawing over. I am confused, until I hear Mrs. Lopez behind me. “Como estamos aquí? I hope Gabriel is helping you catch up Ms. Jefferies.”

“Um, Si Señora Lopez,” I manage to say with a terrible attempt at a Spanish accent.

“Good. Hopefully we can start presentations soon and get out a bit early. No desayuné y tengo mucho hambre.” She winks at Gabriel as she says that last part, and continues walking around to the different groups.

“Uh, what did she say?” I ask him, confused and almost.. jealous(?) about the winking.

He chuckles and replies, “she just wants to get out of here early because she missed out on breakfast.”

“Oh. Well, we should get to work then.”

I manage to come up with a decent enough introduction based on the first chapter of the textbook, since Gabe refuses to offer up a script for us. He says since I’m such a fan of rules, it would cheating the system to have too much help from him. And since I legitimately want to learn Spanish and not just skate by, I agree.

We end up getting in front of the class and finishing our intro with fifteen minutes to kill before lunch starts. Gabriel has to stay in the class because he is the TA, and a few other groups end up needing extra help. So I pack up my things and wait outside of the room for him to finish up, eager to start our game.