& Then They Loved (Ampersand Love #3)

7. Lessons in Chemistry

7

Lessons in Chemistry

Vera

Fifteen Years Ago

V era drew a zig-zag line, crossing one peak and scribbling an ‘O’ next to it.

“Through oxidation, the molecular bond changes to . . .” She trailed off, noticing Vihaan staring at her from his seat beside her at the table they were sharing. With his head cocked, locks of hair falling across his forehead, cheek resting on one palm and a slight smirk, he looked like he was posing for a boy-band poster. His attention would’ve made any girl feel flattered. Vera, however, was not easily swayed.

“Could you please focus?”

“I am,” he responded glibly.

“The exam material is written on the paper in front of you, not on my face.”

“But your face is so much prettier.”

Her mouth tightened into a thin line, her irritation making him grin.

“Listen. Your mother requested that I tutor you as a favour to them. It’s been over a month, and you haven’t progressed much.”

“Because you refused to be my friend for the longest time. I can’t concentrate in hostile environments.”

She rolled her eyes at him when he blinked innocently at her.

Day after day, spending time in close quarters with a boy who’d suddenly decided to only say nice things to her after a lifetime of bullying had left her feeling disoriented. Suspicious of his reasons at first, she’d reacted with her usual snark. Somehow, the pricklier her behaviour, the more charming he’d gotten, disarming her with his patience. He’d worn her down and befriended her, even if she didn’t like to admit it. The more she understood him, the harder it became to dislike him.

Despite his immaturity and penchant for taking things for granted, Vera had come to realise that Vihaan was not bad at heart. He could be generous and kind, was quite the protective friend, and when he put his mind to it— extremely determined. His real self was hidden under layers of superficial detachment and a fuck-it-all attitude.

But he was changing, and with that, so were her feelings toward him.

“Just study,” she grumbled, tapping at his notebook.

“Organic chemistry or Vera and Vihaan’s chemistry?” Vihaan pretended to think, both palms open as he raised them up and down, like two sides of a weighing scale. “I know what I’m more interested in.”

He winked at her, apparently proud of that comparison.

“I swear you sound drunk,” she complained .

“On you.”

“Vihaan!” She slammed her pen on the desk in exasperation, willing the slow heat rising within her to subside.

“Yes, Princess?”

“I need you to stop flirting with me. Go do it with one of the girls in your posse.”

“I don’t hang around with them anymore.”

She peered curiously at him. “Why don’t you hang out with your friends?”

“They’re not my friends,” he responded with a nonchalant shrug. “After that stupid prank they pulled on you, I didn’t want them as friends.”

He’d ditched them for her? Vera’s heart thudded a little harder at the realisation that Vihaan had picked her over people who’d hero worshipped him for years. Her, the girl who’d left no chance to insult and rile him up since they were old enough to talk.

Perhaps he misunderstood her silence to be disbelief because he sat up, pushing his chair back a little to make space before shifting to face her, his knee bumping the side of her seat.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” he began, a layer of impatience in his tone, “I’m actually attending classes. Which you really should have noticed considering I sit about eight inches away from you through most of the day. And after classes, I come home and wait for you to begin tuitions. I’m trying really hard not to give you reasons to hate me anymore. I’m being a good boy.”

Vera bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling when he called himself a good boy when everything about him screamed mischief.

“Good boys don’t annoy their bench-mate through every class,” she muttered, her tone giving away the fact that she wasn’t truly bothered by him.

“You don’t like my amazing commentary when the teachers begin to drone on and on?”

“I don’t. ”

He leaned in, eyes twinkling.

“Liar. I’m precious and fun. I make you smile all prettily. Like that.” He pointed in the general direction of her face.

To her utter surprise, Vera found that she had indeed been smiling at him. She slapped a hand to her mouth, her fingers trembling when she realised how easily he’d managed to charm her.

“Stop flirting,” she ordered again, needing to gain control over herself.

“I need to get the energy out somehow.”

“Not with me.”

“Only with you.”

“Oi, Charming! Stop it right now. Study!”

“Why?”

Vera stomped her foot under the table. The scraping of her chair legs had him shifting to give her room to stand.

“Because it frustrates me that you’re so smart and you don’t use your mind!” she snapped, glowering down at him, hands on her hips.

The smile that bloomed on his face mesmerised her.

“You think I’m smart?”

Caught, she went still, blinking rapidly to try to hold on to her usual confidence. She waved one hand in the air while she searched for the right words.

“I mean. . . occasionally, you exhibit some intelligence that makes me feel surprised.”

“Is that all I make you feel?”

Vera’s breath caught in her throat at his question. For the first time, she glimpsed a vulnerability in him she’d never expected to see.

Unable to hold his gaze, she tried to turn away, squeaking when a firm tug on her arm had her toppling into his lap. She flailed, trying to get up, but he kept tugging her back before she could gain any leverage .

Her gaze swung towards the entrance of the study room, worried that Mr. or Mrs. Oberoi would walk in and misunderstand what was happening. The Oberoi mansion was massive with multiple staff members who could pass by anytime and see Vera on Vihaan’s lap. A warm palm cupped her cheek, turning her face towards the boy who seemed to have no concern about the scandal that would ensue if they were discovered like this.

“I’m here, not outside the door,” Vihaan complained.

“Are you crazy? Let me go,” she hissed, her hands on his shoulders stilling when his fingers slipped around her nape. His eyes bored into her with an intensity that felt out of place for a person as easy-going as him.

“I know you think I’m just a flirt, but you’ve always seen through my bullshit. I like you, Princess. I think you like me, too.”

“Huh?”

“Haan? I didn’t think you’d agree so quickly.”

“I didn’t! It was an exclamation. Don’t confuse it with an acceptance.” She tried to sound sharp, failing when his large hand pressed into her back, drawing her closer.

“Then accept me. Tell me how you feel.”

The thumb rubbing back and forth softly at the corner of her jaw had her feeling dizzy. A sudden thought settled into her.

“If you score over eighty-percent on the exams, I’ll tell you how I feel.”

“And if I score over ninety?”

She stilled.

“Why do you look so shocked?” he asked, his keen eyesight picking up on her momentary reaction.

“I expected you to bargain for a lower score,” she answered honestly.

“If I have to work a little harder to earn you, I’ll do it.”

The sparks in her belly bloomed into a wildfire. It felt like she’d turned into a mass of energy giving off heat waves because Vihaan had used words for her that no one else ever had before. She had no idea how to process it.

Vera Talwar, the girl whom boys feared to approach, whose no-nonsense attitude had earned her the nickname ‘Ice Princess’, was ready to melt into a puddle at this boy’s feet. What was he doing to her? She’d never felt so. . . desired.

With his singular determination to change their status from rivals to friends, Vihaan had somehow seduced her with his attention, and she was on her way to getting addicted, if she wasn’t already.

“What do you want?” Her eyes fluttered to a close when he tugged closer, afraid that she would give him more of herself than was wise.

“If I score higher than eighty, I want an honest confession. More than ninety, I want a date.”

For a long moment, they said nothing else, the soft sounds of their breath keeping them company.

“Okay,” she agreed, her voice reduced to all but a whisper. Her response brought a small, almost bashful smile to his face. With a playful bump of his nose against hers, he shoved her off his lap. She grappled with the edge of the table to catch her balance. As soon as she was steady, his grip on her waist receded. She spun around, ready to rip him a new one when he waved his hand in the air, shooing her away.

“Quit distracting me with your excessive sexiness.” He flipped the pages of his books seriously before shooting her a sly wink. “I have a challenge to win.”