The Scientist

Chapter 16

“H m,” was all my mom said after I told her about what Lex had shown me in the lab while sitting together at her chemo appointment.

“What?” I asked, knowing there was more.

“Nothing,” she said vaguely. “That was very kind of him.”

“Mhmm. What else?”

“He seems like a really great friend ,” she said, putting emphasis on the last word.

“Just spit it out.”

She smiled before chanting, “Lex and Hadley sitting in a tree…”

“Oh my god.” I rolled my eyes, smiling. “You’re so childish.”

“Admit it,” she said. “You like him.”

“I admit nothing.”

“That’s too bad because he definitely wants to be sitting in that tree with you.”

“How would you know?”

“Please. A blind man could see the way that man looks at you.”

“And how is that?”

“Like you invented blowjobs,” she said, cracking up at herself.

“Wow.” I shook my head. “I knew we never should’ve gotten you that medical marijuana.”

She continued to laugh. She was in such a great mood these days, and I wondered if I had her new friend Carl to thank for that.

“All jokes aside, it’s pretty obvious how he feels about you. His eyes barely left your face in the ten minutes I spent with him. If you moved even an inch, his attention was on you.”

That seemed like an exaggeration. “I don’t know about that.”

“Why are you fighting this? He seems great.”

“He is,” I agreed. “It’s just that we’re both so busy. I don’t think we’d ever see each other if not for the fact that our homes are directly across from one another. Plus, I don’t even know where we’ll both be in a year’s time. I might be back in New York, and his next grant might take him to Antarctica, for all I know.”

“Do penguins get Alzheimer’s?” she joked.

“I don’t know if it’s worth all the heartache.”

She smiled warmly at me. “Only one way to find out.”

I got uncomfortable thinking about how much it would hurt to not be able to see him anymore, and we weren’t even together. I didn’t know if I would ever be ready to take that risk.

“Let’s talk about your love life,” I said, ready for a change of subject. “You and Carl still sitting in a tree?”

“Oh honey, Carl and I have moved from the trees to the gardens.”

I made a gagging noise, and her laughter rang out playfully like a child’s. I loved seeing her this happy. My mom had never been unhappy per se, but I hadn’t seen her this way in so long. Had she been lonely this whole time? I had a feeling leaving California was going to be an even bigger challenge now.

“So, what are your plans for the evening?” she asked.

“Actually, Sarah invited me to her friend’s bachelorette party tonight. I was thinking about going. It’s not until much later though, if you want to grab dinner before your canasta group.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

We ended up at that same sushi place we went to when we first came to California, where she continued to pester me about my love life, and I had to plug my ears when she talked about hers.

◆◆◆

After dinner, I still had plenty of time to spare before the bachelorette party was set to kick off, so I decided to head home. I figured I could get a little writing done before we headed out since the plan was just to go bar hopping in downtown Stanford.

As I started up the footpath toward my house, I heard the sound of rock music and laughter filling the air. I could see a party going on a few doors down from mine at Sanjay’s, one of the guys from Lex’s team.

I recognized some of the other guys from the team hanging out on the front porch, sipping from plastic cups, including my endlessly entertaining comrade, Stuart. I was about to go over to say hello but hesitated when I saw who else was there. Jace, another of Lex’s coworkers, was also one of the porch dwellers.

I’d met him a few times when I’d been over for dinner at the guys’ house. Our interactions had always been friendly, but I think he must have misread our exchanges because he ended up asking me on a date yesterday when I saw him at the coffee shop. I was reminded of what my gran had once told me—women always flirt best with men they aren’t interested in.

My disinterest was through no fault of his. He seemed really nice and was definitely cute, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to date just yet, which is exactly what I told him.

“Hadley! HADLEYYYYY!” Stuart bellowed, waving his arms around wildly, gesturing for me to come over.

This should be interesting . I sighed and headed toward them.

“Hey Stuart,” I said, walking up the stairs of the porch.

He pulled me in for a tight hug like we hadn’t just seen each other yesterday.

“It’s my favorite gal pal, Hadley!” He reeked of booze. “Hadley, this is Dan, Friedrich, and you already know Peter.”

“Hey guys,” I said. They all gave the guy version of a hello—a quick head nod.

“And apparently you already know this asshole.” Stuart hooked his thumb toward Jace.

Jace gave me a kind smile. “Nice to see you again, Hadley.”

Stuart threw his arm over my shoulder. “We need you to clear something up, Betty,” he said. “Jace went around telling everyone at work today that he asked you out on a date and you said maybe.”

I looked over at Jace, who didn’t appear embarrassed in the least.

“That’s not exactly what I said,” Jace explained, grinning. “I told them you said you weren’t ready to date yet, but I’d be here when you were and that it would be worth the wait.” He winked, and I smiled back at him, thinking he must not have an insecure bone in his body with the way he was talking about this so openly in front of all his friends.

“What a schmuck,” Stuart said dramatically. “Are you seriously going to entertain this, Betty? Just get it over with and tell him you’re not interested.”

I wished I was interested in a guy like Jace. He seemed easygoing and not afraid to say exactly what he was thinking. Unfortunately, my feelings seemed to be tangled up in the silent, cryptic type lately.

“No, he’s telling the truth,” I said, not wanting to embarrass him. Though I was starting to think that wasn’t even possible. “I’m not ready to date yet, but he’s a perfectly good option for any woman in their right mind…which I’m clearly not.”

Jace smirked at my roundabout rejection, and I was happy to find it wasn’t a blow to his ego.

“Ridiculous!” Stuart said ten times louder than was necessary.

“Okay, good buddy.” I snatched his cup from him just as he tried to take another sip. “I think you’ve had enough.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “He had two beers and a shot but he’s acting like he did a whole keg stand.”

“I’m fine,” Stuart slurred.

I patted him lightly on the back. “I know you are, but you should probably give it a rest for now.”

“You’re right,” he said, touching his index finger to the tip of my nose. “We’re having a poker tournament, but I got cleaned out an hour ago, so all that was left to do was drink!”

I wondered if he had gotten any food in his system before this drinking binge. I might have to get something in him or else he was going to be extremely hungover.

“I guess what I’m really trying to tell you is we lost, Hadley… ergo, you are hanging out with a group of losers.” He made the L shape against his forehead. “You should go inside where the winners are.”

“Boy, you really can’t handle your liquor,” I said to him.

“Like a teenager on spring break,” Dan added.

I gave a small sigh. “I think I might need a drink.” I was definitely going to need one if I was going to deal with this fool.

“Your wish, my command,” Stuart said, bowing down low in front of me and almost falling over.

“’E looks like a baby ‘orse trying to valk for the first time,” Friedrich commented as he watched Stuart trying to right himself.

“Can it, Freddy!” Stuart shouted.

“I’ll get you that drink,” Jace offered.

“Thanks,” I told him, helping Stuart inside.

They had quite the party going. There were around twenty guys and a few women gathered around four poker tables. Some were playing while others just stood by watching. The couches had been pushed up against the wall, where more people were hanging out and drinking. It didn’t take long for me to spot Lex (not that I was looking) facing away from us at one of the poker tables, his chips stacked a mile high. I came to a halt when I saw him, staring like a deer caught in headlights.

The shocking part wasn’t seeing him socializing with a large group of people. What had my complete, undivided attention was the fact that Nicky was draped over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. The blood boiled beneath my skin. I didn’t even know I was capable of such rampant, irrational jealousy, but here I was picturing taking her head and bashing it into the table over and over.

Jace had come back from the kitchen and handed me a drink. I thanked him and took a large swallow, trying to cover up my anger.

“Everyone! Listen up!” Stuart started shouting. Everyone turned to look at him including Lex, whose eyes went wide with surprise when he saw me standing there.

“This divine lady here who looks like she should be carved into the front of a pirate ship is my good pal, Hadley. Not a one of you is good enough for her,” he said, pulling me to his side. “And that includes you, Jace… so hands off!”

“For fuck’s sake,” I mumbled. “Thanks for that.”

“What? I was making sure they knew you were off limits.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “No one was planning on jumping her, Benowitz.”

The party recommenced with everyone ignoring Stuart and getting back to their conversations and the card game. Everyone except Lex, who was glaring in our direction, his eyes flitting between myself and Jace.

I wasn’t sure if I should go over and greet him or not while he was in the middle of playing, so I settled for just waving and smiling, but he didn’t return the gesture. Rude . He turned back to the game as I watched Nicky playfully trying to peek at his cards with her hand wrapped around his bicep. I must not have been able to hide my revulsion, because Stuart stopped to look at what I was staring at.

“Oh, you noticed that horrible smell too? Looks like you found the source,” Stuart said loud enough for Nicky to hear. That got her attention.

“He can’t even have a couple drinks without acting like a sloppy mess,” Nicky said just as loudly, glancing at Stuart. “Pathetic.”

“Anyone else think it’s no coincidence that Nicky’s name has the word‘ick’in it?” Stuart asked, looking around at everyone.

That got a laugh from a few of the other guys in the room, which made me wonder how well-liked she really was.

“Fuck off, Stuart,” Nicky snapped.

“Love to! The smell was getting to me anyway,” he retorted. “Come on, Betty. Let’s get you that drink.” He grabbed my arm, trying to pull me toward the kitchen.

I held up my cup in front of him. “I already have a drink.”

“Then come with me so I can get another.”

“I don’t think you need any more,” I protested, but he pulled me with him to the kitchen anyway.

I looked back apologetically at Jace, who smiled and shrugged like he was used to Stuart’s antics. I dared a glance back at Lex just to see him scowling in our direction. What was this night turning into?

I took a few sips of my drink while I watched Stuart clumsily make himself another one.

“I think you should eat something first,” I told him, trying my best not to sound like a mother hen.

“All Sanjay has is stale Tostitos and leftover vindaloo, and you know what curry does to my IBS.”

Boy did I .I made the mistake of eating Indian food with them one night and suffered for it the whole car ride home.

“You literally live a hundred feet away from here. You could go grab something.”

“And miss the fun of seeing you and Lex having a standoff from across the room? No, thank you.”

“We’re not having a standoff.” I didn’t know what to call what was going on between us.

“He’s not interested in her anymore. I promise,” he said, digging in the freezer for more ice for his drink.

“Who?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t know exactly who he was talking about.

He ignored my bad attempt at feigning ignorance. “I mean, did you see her?” he asked, dropping the ice cubes into his cup with a clink. “She’s been hanging all over him all night. He’s been trying to shake her off, but she just keeps coming back around like some kind of evil, desperate boomerang.”

It didn’t seem that way to me, but I could hardly think straight through the blinding jealousy I was feeling.

“Let’s get back out there,” I told him, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

There were a few open chairs near the couches, so he and I went to sit with the rest of the guests not participating in the card game. Unfortunately, these seats were directly across from Lex’s table so I was getting a front-row seat to Pinky and the Brain. I tried not to look their way, but I would catch glimpses of him out the corner of my eye looking up at me from his cards every so often.Dan, Peter, and Jace came to sit with us, and I was happy for the distraction.

“Lex looks like he’s cleaning up over there,” Dan noted, taking a seat on the edge of the couch. So much for the distraction.All eyes turned to Lex’s table.

“He always does,” Peter commented.

Lex was watching our little group, looking more annoyed by the minute.

Dan heaved a sigh. “Why does he have to be good at everything?”

“I’d kill for his brain,” Peter said. “Did you see how fast he worked that Nernst Equation today when we were looking at the ion concentrations?”

“UGHHHHH.” Stuart rolled his eyes and slid down in his chair dramatically. “We get it. Lex is the second coming of Christ. Can we talk about something else please?”

“Sure,” Peter said before turning toward me. “Hadley, you think you might change your mind about going out with Jace?”

“Absolutely not,” Stuart cut in before I had the chance to respond. “Jace is an idiot.”

Jace raised his glass. “Thanks, man.”

“If you want to go on a date, then I’m going to choose the guy,” Stuart said, pretending like Jace wasn’t sitting right there.

Dan raised his hand. “I volunteer as tribute.”

Stuart rolled his eyes. “That’s actually a good option for you, Hadley… charity work. You could claim it on your taxes.”

“Fuck off, Stuart,” Dan said, flipping him the bird.

Stuart’s eyes widened with surprise. “Why does everyone keep saying that to me tonight?”

“Because you’re a dickhead, that’s why.” Peter shrugged. “Not that you’ve ever cared.”

“Not only do I not care, I actually prefer it.” Stuart took a large swallow of his new drink, smacking his lips. “Sets people’s expectations a lot lower.”

“Well, it’s working. My expectations of you are always ridiculously low,” Dan remarked.

Stuart grabbed my chair, pulling it close to his, and threw his arm around my shoulder.

“We’ll find someone for you, Betty. Don’t worry. I already told you, none of these assholes are good enough for you anyway.”

“I doubt she needs your help finding a date,” Peter commented.

“Of course she doesn’t. Look at her! She’s the face that launched a thousand ships, for god’s sake. But I’m just trying to help my friend out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Mhmmm,” I said doubtfully. “What is it you really want?”

He pretended to be thinking about it for a moment, tapping his index finger against his lips. “Well, if I’m able to find you the man of your dreams, then there is one teensy thing I’d like in return.”

“What is it?” I already knew this was going to be absurd.

“Reciprocity,” he answered. I was surprised he could even say the word without slurring.

“You want me to set you up with someone?”

“It’s only fair,” he said.

“This room is occupied by a large majority of the people I know here in California.”

“Hadley, you work in the liberal arts department. You’re surrounded by women who are morally opposed to the brassiere. I’m sure you could find at least one who would be interested in a lovable, five-foot-eight, Jewish neurobiologist.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Five-foot-eight?”

“Fine, five-foot-six… whatever.”

I chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” Hopefully, he’d forget about this conversation by tomorrow.

I tried glancing up inconspicuously at Lex’s table only to find him glaring holes in the arm Stuart had around me. My immediate reaction was to pull away, but I stopped myself. My relationship with Stuart was the epitome of platonic. Meanwhile, the esteemed Dr. Strovinski was letting his ex attempt to fuse her body with his.

The dealer must have called for his attention because he abruptly pulled his gaze away from us. He seemed flustered as he looked down and played one of his cards. I heard the grating sound of Nicky’s giggle before she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder. A buzzing sound filled my ears before my mind went completely blank. Without thinking, I shot to my feet. The guys all stared at me with puzzled expressions. I’m sure they were wondering what the hell I was doing, but I couldn’t stay here any longer. My skin felt like it was crawling, and my drink turned sour in my stomach as I looked at them.

“What’s wrong?” Stuart asked.

“Nothing,” I said curtly. “I just told Sarah I would meet her out at the bars downtown tonight, so I think I should get going.”

“You could just say these guys are boring you. They bore me all the time,” Stuart said, sloshing his drink around.

“No, I’m having a good time.” Or at least I was . A thought suddenly sprang to my mind. “You guys should come with me.” I thought I might like the distraction of having a big group with me.

“You want us to go out to the bars with you?” Stuart looked even more confused.

“One of Sarah’s friends is having a bachelorette party, and they’re just going bar hopping downtown. She told me to bring some friends if I wanted to.” It was a joint bachelor/bachelorette party, so there would be guys there too.

“Are you kidding me?” He stood up so quickly, he swayed a little. I grabbed his arm to steady him.“Sarah’s hot.”

“Okay?”

“So, it’s a known fact that hot girls travel in packs and they’ve been drinking! I’m a solid seven to a drunk girl.”

“Whatever you say,” I said with a shrug. “You guys coming?”

“I’m in,” Peter said excitedly.

“I’m in too,” Dan agreed with a smile.

“I can’t,” Jace said, looking disappointed. “Sanjay would kill me if I left him here to deal with the whole party and its aftermath alone.”

I had forgotten that Jace was Sanjay’s roommate. I thought it was respectable that he wasn’t ditching him.

“Awww bummer,” Stuart said, not looking disappointed at all. “Let’s go.” He started heading for the door.

“Wait. Let me just go home and change.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, falling back in his chair. “Meet us back here when you’re done.”

“Okay, we can call an Uber then.”

Stuart perked up. “This is going to be awesomeeee,” he said, dragging out the last word. I laughed at his enthusiasm about going to a bachelorette party, but the smile quickly faded when I turned to see Nicky’s head still leaning against Lex’s shoulder. I walked out past their table hurriedly without giving them another glance.

Maybe I’d been reading Lex wrong this whole time. The feelings I was having were probably all one-sided. I just needed to take a giant step back and not let this Nicky thing bother me. The reality was he wasn’t mine to be jealous over. But that didn’t mean I had to sit there and watch them canoodle right in front of my face. Going out with the girls—and now the guys—was going to be the perfect distraction. I was single and going out with a group of really great friends. Conditions were ripe for a good time, which meant I should dress the part.

Up in my room, I teased my hair into a tousled, wavy look. I wanted to spice things up a bit so I gave myself a smoky eye and red lip. My closet was a mess, so I had to dig for a while to find a bachelorette party-worthy dress. I pulled out a tiny black number that I never wore, because the last time I did, I spent the entire night trying to tug it down. I slipped it on, and it was as short as I remembered, coming to about mid-thigh. It hugged me in all the right places though, so I decided to go with it. It was a bachelorette party, after all. I found a pair of black pumps that had straps across the toes and around the ankles that I knew I’d deeply regret wearing tomorrow, but I was living life for today.

I checked myself in the mirror, thinking I’d probably aged out of wearing something like this about five years ago. Oh well . I’d come this far. I wasn’t turning back now. I grabbed my ID, cell phone, and some cash, stashing them in a small handbag, and headed back out the door to meet the bachelors.

I walked back inside and found my crew still sitting in the spot I left them, except for Jace, who was nowhere to be seen. As I approached, Dan and Peter’s eyes grew so wide, they resembled cartoon characters, and Stuart’s mouth was hanging slack-jawed.

I grew a little self-conscious looking down, worried I’d accidentally walked out in my underwear, and then realized the outfit was so short, it could have passed for underwear.

“You guys ready?” I asked when I reached them. They continued to stare blankly.

“Stuart?” I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

“Sorry.” He shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts. “I got distracted by the Jessica Rabbit impersonation you’re doing.”

“You guys ready to leave?” I asked again, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.

“Yep. Just not going to look straight at you. Maybe that will help,” he said, standing. We started making our way to the door when Lex stepped in front of me, blocking our path. His jaw was clenched so tight, I thought his teeth must have been grinding down to nothing.

“You’re really taking these morons out to the bars downtown?” His face was flushed with anger. Stuart must have filled him in on our plans while I was gone.

“Yeah, what’s the problem?” I asked, matching his tone.

“The problem is you’re all faculty members, and your plan is to go out drinking at the college bars that will be crawling with students. You really want your students to see you drunk and dressed like that?” he said, waving his hand in front of me.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. The music was still playing, but no one said a word.

I narrowed my eyes at him.“You have a problem with the way I’m dressed?”

“I don’t,” Stuart said, stepping in front of us. “I mean, if you were about to use your lifeline to poll the audience… that’s my vote.”

I ignored Stuart. “Answer the question,” I said, glaring at him. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he glared back at me.Wisely, he chose to remain silent.

“That’s what I thought,” I snapped. “Go back to your poker game, Lex.” I picked a piece of pink hair off his shoulder and held it briefly in front of his face before letting it drop to the ground. “Looks like you’re going to get lucky tonight.”

I glanced pointedly at Nicky, who was still seated at the card table, so he knew exactly what I was implying, before I turned and marched out of the house.