The Academy (8 page)

“Well, you have the rest of the year to get to know him.” He smiled at me. “Speaking of the handsome but distant Ice Prince, did he give you a tour of the campus yet?”

I shook my head. “No. And I’m deathly afraid I’ll get lost trying to find my classes tomorrow.”

“We can’t have that.” Wilkenson nodded down at my plate. “Are you quite done with that? Don’t worry if you’re still hungry—I have an extra protein bar in my pocket you can have.”

“Thank you.” I smiled gratefully. “In that case, I’m definitely finished.”

“Let’s go then,” He stood, gathering his tray and my own as well. “I’ll show you around a little before lights out.”

For a moment I considered turning down his offer. North had told me to be careful, hadn’t he? Then again, if he was that worried he could have waited for me so we could walk back to the dorm together. Although that would have meant being seen with me, a lowly third-form cadet, in public.

The thought made me mad and I nodded at Wilkenson. “Wonderful, I’d love a tour.”

He smiled, exposing very white teeth. “Come on then, little chicklet, let’s see what mischief we can get into.”

I wondered if there would be enough light to see anything but I needn’t have worried. There was no moon in the sky, of course, since we were
on
a moon but Zeus reflected the light of Prometheus beautifully, illuminating our way. We nibbled our protein bars and Wilkenson led me this way and that, pointing out the various buildings and letting me know the easiest way to get to my classes.

After about half an hour, he took my arm and tucked it through his as we strolled by the side of the large, man-made lake at the far edge of the campus. The affectionate gesture startled me at first but it also reminded me of the way I had strolled with Kristopher back home. Was this Wilkenson’s way of being friendly? I hadn’t seen any of the other cadets strolling arm-in-arm, but then again, I hadn’t been here very long.

Wilkenson looked at me, his pale green eyes glimmering in the reflected light. “Is this all right with you?”

“I…guess so.” I looked at him uncertainly.

“I hope I’m not being too forward.” He smiled at me. “It’s just that when you find a kindred spirit, you want to connect with them At least,
I
do.”

“Of course.” I returned his smile, deciding to ignore my uneasiness. “I understand.”

“You do? I’m so glad.” He sighed. “Sometimes I feel completely
surrounded
by trolls and troglodytes here.”

“I can see why,” I said, thinking of Broward and Dakes. “It’s a lot rougher here than I imaged it was back home, when I was deciding to come study here.”

“At least you got to choose.” Wilkenson sighed. “I’m here because my dear father wanted his only son to carry on the family tradition of honor, excellence, and all around military idiocy.
I
wanted to go to theater school on Dionysius but of course
that
was out of the question.” He patted my hand in a warm, familiar way. “But enough of my woes. DLO in ten more minutes, and then RLO not long after that. We’d better go.”

“DLO and RLO?” I said, remembering that North had said something about that as well. “What do those stand for?”

“Dorm lights out—when all the cadets have to be back in their dorm buildings and room lights out, when everyone has to be back in their rooms. Every light in the place is supposed to be off at that time but you
can
get away with a small lamp to study by—as long as you can prove that’s what you’re doing if the dorm monitor comes by to check.”

“Oh, all right.” I nodded and let him lead me away from the lake and back toward the dorm buildings. We didn’t see anyone else out and I assumed the other cadets were already in their rooms. Before I knew it, we were standing in the shadow of the Goddard building, saying goodnight. “Thank you for the tour,” I said politely, wondering when he was going to release my arm.

“Thank you for the pleasure of your company.” Wilkenson’s face was suddenly very close to mine—much closer than was comfortable. “Do you mind if I kiss you goodnight?” he murmured.

A shock went through me. “Wha—?” I started but then his mouth had descended onto mine and I was suddenly fighting for air.

“Hey!” I pushed him away and wiped a hand across my lips reflexively. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He frowned. “Kissing you. I
did
ask first.”

“You didn’t give me a chance to answer though.” I could still feel the press of his thin lips against my own and it made me want to scrub my mouth with soap.

Wilkenson gave me an exasperated look. “Don’t play coy. If you didn’t want me to kiss you, why did you let me hold your arm?”

“I don’t know. I…I thought that was how friends treated each other here.” I shook my head. “Look, I have to go.”

“Fine, run away then, little boy.” His tone was bored but I could see genuine hurt in his green eyes.

I didn’t know what else to say. “Good night,” I mumbled and let myself into the dorm.

It was a good thing Broward and his gang weren’t waiting to ambush me again because I climbed the staircase to my room in a kind of daze. Wilkenson’s kiss—which had been my first—had left me almost as shaken as the bully’s punch. It had felt wrong and frightening and slightly disgusting. In Victoria we didn’t kiss another person on the lips unless we were married or at least engaged to them. I felt Wilkenson had robbed me of something I would rather have shared with someone else—someone I truly cared for.

“What took you so long? It’s almost DLO—if you get caught out after that it’s demerits and five licks with the paddle or the cane.”

I looked up to see North frowning at me as I closed the door of our room behind me.

“I…Wilkenson gave me a tour of the campus.”

“He did, did he?” A concerned expression passed over his refined features. “Are you sure that’s
all
he did? Why do you look like that? And why do you keep wiping your mouth?”

I realized I was scrubbing at my lips with the sleeve of Kristopher’s jacket and made myself stop. “I’m fine,” I mumbled.

“No, you’re not.” He strode forward and ducked his head to get a better look at me. “What happened? I
told
you to be careful.”

“I know.” I couldn’t meet his eyes and I felt my cheeks heat with shame. “He…he kissed me.”

“Kissed you? Is that
all?”

When I nodded, North broke into sudden laughter.

I glared at him furiously. “I’m glad you find this so
funny.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just from the look on your face I thought something awful had happened.”

“It
was
awful!” I snapped. “Not to mention completely unexpected. He seemed so nice and funny and charming. He invited me for an evening stroll and then—”

“Unexpected?” North interrupted me. “Oh come on, Jameson. What did you
think
was going to happen if you agreed to take an ‘evening stroll’ with him around campus?”

“I don’t know but not
that.”

He shook his head. “You really are completely naïve, aren’t you?”

“We don’t do such things in Victoria,” I said stiffly. “We don’t kiss anyone until we’re married or at least engaged.” I shook my head. “I just don’t understand why he would think I would want to…to do anything like that with him.”

“Probably because of the rumor Broward is spreading.” North crossed his arms over his chest.

“Rumor?” I looked up at him, my heart pounding in my chest. Though I was posing as a male, I couldn’t get over the feminine ideas which had been instilled in me from birth.
Remember, my dear, once lost, your good reputation is gone forever. And you are lost with it,
whispered a little voice in my head. “Why would Broward spread a rumor about me?” I demanded.

“To discredit anything you say—in case you decide to tell what you saw in the Admin building, of course.” North spoke as if it was perfectly obvious. “Now if you tell people he got licks and chose the paddle over the cane, it will just look like you’re trying to get back at him for what he’s saying.”

This was just getting worse and worse. “What
is
he saying?” I had to know.

North frowned. “Unfortunately, he’s been telling people he saw you with Hinks.”

Suddenly the cadets in the mess hall laughing about my uniform made sense. I put a hand to my hot cheek. “Saw me doing
what?”

“You don’t want to know,” he said darkly. “But believe me, it’s not good.”

“But…but I would
never—”

North shrugged. “
You
know that and
I
know that but the rest of the campus thinks you’re a little light in the anti-grav boots.”

“What?”

“Gay. Which is probably why Wilkenson zeroed in on you.” He shook his head again. “Seriously, can’t you tell when you’re being hit on?”

“Hit on? You mean flirted with?”

“Of course.” He nodded.

I thought about it. I had been to parties where gentlemen paid me delicate compliments but none of them had ever been so blatant as to try and kiss me. “I…I guess it’s never really happened to me before.”

“North looked skeptical. “Looking the way you do? I find that very hard to believe. You must be a magnet for guys like Wilkenson.”

“But we don’t do such things—”

“On Victoria, right, I get it.” He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “God, I can’t believe they put such a naïve little
pipsqueak
in here with me.”

I bristled. “I am not a pipsqueak!”

“I don’t see you denying the naïve part, though,” he said dryly. “What I’m trying to tell you is this is something you’re going to have to watch out for. Remember what I told you earlier about there being too many guys and no girls around here? Well, some guys are going to think you’re…you’re…”

“I’m
what
?”

His face got red. “
Pretty
, all right?”

“Pretty?” The word sent a shock of fear through me. As a female it was a compliment—as a male, it was an
indictment
.

North sighed. “I’m sorry but really, no other word fits. Not with your eyes and mouth and…anyway, I’m just saying some guys are going to like the way you look and they might come after you like Wilkenson did. All right?”

I felt ill. “Am I going to have to be suspicious of everyone I meet? Anyone who tries to befriend me?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m just telling you to be careful, that’s all.” He ran both hands through his hair. “God, I don’t even know why I’m bothering telling you this—it should be
obvious
. Just do what you want.”

Shaking his head, he went back to his side of the room and started taking off his uniform jacket. But he didn’t stop with just taking off the jacket. Next came the crisp, white shirt he wore under it, revealing broad shoulders and a bare back that led to a narrow waist. I watched, mesmerized and unable to look away. When I saw him starting to unfasten his pants, I finally found my voice.

“What…what are you doing?”

He turned his head toward me briefly. “Getting ready for a shower. You’d better hurry if you want one too—DLO was five minutes ago and RLO is in another ten.”

A shower—how I wanted one! The thought of all that steaming hot water flowing over my tired body and refreshing my grimy-feeling skin almost drove the fact that North was undressing in front of me out of my mind. However, the sight of his naked buttocks, as he pushed down his uniform pants and under breaches, brought me back to reality. His backside was firm and muscular—the exact opposite, in fact, of what I had seen while Broward was being paddled. There was no covering of coarse brown fur either, apparently not all males were hairy everywhere. Well, that was nice to know.

Suddenly I realized what I was doing—studying a naked man’s behind as though it was perfectly normal to do so. And now he was
completely
naked. What was wrong with me?