Chapter 2 Daisy
DAISY
Our physics professor is a short, bald man with a booming voice and a quick smile.
He spends the two-hour lab pacing the front of the room and trying with all his might to get us pumped about our work.
He’s great. Friendly, a little quirky, and a whole lot animated.
He teaches with his whole body, hands waving wildly as he gives us instructions for today’s assignment.
But despite his best efforts, my attention is pulled to the guy sitting at the table in front of me.
Today Liam wears a black polo shirt with jeans.
His blond hair is covered by a matching black baseball cap.
Even when he’s casual, he’s put together.
He leans on his left elbow, pen poised against his full lips, giving our boisterous professor his entire focus.
He’s a direct contradiction to the guy next to him.
Jordan Thatcher’s messy black hair curls around a backward hat that says I heart MILFs.
His shirt is wrinkled, and his socks don’t match.
He’s handsome if you don’t mind that I just finished practice and couldn’t be bothered to find clean clothes look.
Liam and Jordan are teammates, but they’re so different I don’t understand how they’re friends off the ice.
While Liam is known for being a good guy, Jordan’s reputation is less pristine.
If there’s a party, he’s there. Girls love his carefree, party-hard attitude.
I find it… daunting. Sure, I’d love to care a little less and break out of my shell, but Jordan doesn’t seem like he cares about anything.
His head is bowed over his desk, and he scribbles furiously like he’s taking down every word Professor Green says. Except even from my table behind him, I can see what he’s really doing is coloring in the block letters of the notebook brand on the front.
When the professor has finished and given us the go-ahead to start, I sigh and glance at the empty chair next to me. It’s the third week in a row that my lab partner has been a no-show. She’s either dropped or on her way to failing.
I read through the instructions that I partially missed while staring at Liam. He and Jordan always walk in at the last second, so it really isn’t my fault that I need the first few minutes of class to scope him out.
I pull my hair back into a ponytail as Liam stands in front of his stool. He’s tall, and his broad shoulders pull the fabric of his shirt as he leans over to scribble something on a piece of paper. His partner is less enthusiastic, sitting and watching as Liam gets them started.
Blowing out a breath, I drop my gaze back to my own desk. I like physics, but this is going to be a lot to get through on my own.
“Miss Johnson.” Professor Green approaches my table as I’m re-reading the first steps of the lab. He clicks his tongue, hand on his hip as he looks at the empty space beside me. “Your partner is missing again.”
I offer an awkward smile.
“These labs are really meant for two.” He opens his stance and stares down his nose at the classroom.
My pulse thrums quickly as he weighs his options.
Every other table is paired up. It’ll be just my luck that he’ll decide to be my partner or stick me with a group that ignores me and continues in their happy twosome.
I hate this kind of attention. It’s like walking into a room full of people or being called on in class.
My skin itches and I twist my hands in front of me.
It feels like everyone is avoiding looking up from their table because they know Professor Green is searching for somewhere to place me.
It’s irrational. I know this. Most of them probably don’t even realize what’s happening.
It isn’t like they notice me any other time, so why would now be different?
Still, I hate the thought of being added to a group that doesn’t want me.
“Let’s put you with Mr. Price and Mr. Thatcher.”
My heart drops into my stomach. Frozen, I don’t speak or move while Professor Green steps closer to Liam and Jordan with a pleased smile at his problem-solving.
“Miss Johnson will be joining you until her partner returns,” he tells them.
To my horror, Liam looks around, completely clueless about who Miss Johnson is.
It’s me, you idiot, I scream in my head, then silently apologize because it isn’t his fault I’ve never once worked up the courage to speak to him. Actually, that isn’t true. Once, I sneezed, and he said, “Bless You,” and I thanked him.
Jordan and Liam finally locate the only unpartnered person in the class. Liam’s eyes widen in an observing sort of way as he stares at me. He lifts a hand in a polite wave. Jordan scoots his stool over with a loud screech against the tile floor.
I scoop up my belongings, and on rubber legs, I move the eight feet from my table to theirs.
“Hi, I’m Liam.” He moves into the middle spot behind the table and offers me his chair. “This is Jordan.”
He leans back slightly so I can see Jordan on the other side of him.
I nod to each of them.
“I didn’t catch your first name,” Liam says. “Unless you want us to call you Miss Johnson.”
“Dai-sy.” My voice shakes on both syllables.
His smile sets free a thousand butterflies inside of me. This close, he seems so much taller.
“Cool. Nice to meet you, Daisy. We were just about to trace the rays of the concave lens. Do you want to do the honors?”
Jordan snorts. “Honors?”
Liam ignores him and flips on the light on the projector. Rays of light stretch out onto the paper. I’m still partially frozen.
“Need a pencil?” He lifts his from the top of his notebook, and because I’m not sure where mine is at the moment, I accept it.
My hand shakes as I trace along the rays with a ruler. I’m embarrassed to admit how his presence a mere foot away from me has me unsteady on my feet and struggling to make air flow through my lungs.
The daisy charm on my necklace swings forward as I crouch over the table. Liam drums his thumbs absently on the table.
“There,” I say when I’m done.
I finally get a deep breath that clears some of my nerves, but then I get a big inhale of his faint cologne, and my chest tightens. He even smells perfect.
Liam looks to Jordan. “What’s next?”
Jordan stays sitting on his stool while Liam and I finish marking the paper. Every step, Liam checks with him, and then the two of us complete it. I can tell it’s how they always do things, and it doesn’t surprise me that Liam has been doing the brunt of the work.
While Liam reads through the next step in our assignment, I take the opportunity to stare at him up close.
His brows tug together in concentration, and the tip of his tongue pushes between his teeth.
He has great bone structure, high cheekbones, and a long, straight nose.
He’s clean-shaven, and his skin has warm undertones that make his blond hair and blue eyes contrast nicely.
I feel Jordan’s gaze on me. When I meet his dark stare, a humored smile curves his lips. Blushing at being caught checking out his friend, I fidget with my necklace and look around at the other tables while Liam finishes.
“So, Daisy.” Liam’s voice brings me back. “What’s your major?”
“Physics,” I say automatically in the practiced response I’ve honed, and then I add, “and art. Physics and art.”
A slow smile lifts the corners of his mouth. His forehead crinkles as his brows raise in surprise. “Double major?”
I wet my lips and nod. A few seconds pass before I realize the polite thing to do is ask him the same question back, even if I already know the answer.
“What about you?”
“Civil engineering.” He pokes his pencil toward Jordan. “Both of us.”
I refuse to look at Jordan again, but I aim a smile between them.
After thirty minutes, my anxiety finally abates enough that I find my voice.
“You play hockey, right?”
“Yeah.” Liam beams at me. “How’d you know.”
I point to Jordan’s Valley U hockey T-shirt.
“Right. Have you been to a game?”
“No,” I admit, now wishing I hadn’t brought it up.
“What? Never? What year are you?”
“Sophomore.”
He shakes his head and shoots me a playful smile. “You’re missing out. We’re pretty good.”
He’s being modest. They won the Frozen Four two years ago, and last year got pretty close to going back to the national tournament.
Jordan, who’s stayed quiet except for reading instructions, speaks up, “Don’t bother, man. It doesn’t really seem like her kind of thing.”
He does a quick and dismissive once-over of my dress and boots.
At five foot four, I’m slightly shorter than average, and my small bone structure makes me look younger and smaller than I am.
I probably won’t be strapping on pads anytime soon, but violence in of itself doesn’t bother me.
Though admittedly, I don’t completely understand why anyone thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of guys on ice skates and give them sticks and permission to ram into one another.
“It is,” I protest.
“Yeah?” Jordan grins. “My mistake. Who is your favorite hockey player?”
My cheeks heat with embarrassment.
“Home games are the best,” Liam ignores him, leaning forward and blocking Jordan from my view. “The roar of the crowd and excitement is like a big party. You should come sometime and see for yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
I don’t really know why I haven’t gone before. It’s just one more thing I’ve passed on for safer, quieter options. Plus, Violet has sworn off sporting events unless it’s for Dahlia, and all my friends are friends with her.
The rest of the class passes with more small talk, and the three of us finish the assignment before anyone else.
“We work well together,” Liam says as he hooks his backpack over one shoulder.
“Yeah,” I agree a little breathlessly. My heart races like it did earlier. “Thanks for letting me join.”
“Of course. Have a good day, Daisy.”
I suck in a breath at my name on his lips.
“You too, Liam,” I chirp back.
Jordan hangs back a second, and when I don’t say anything, he chuckles. “Yeah, great. I’ll have a good day too.”
I speed walk to the café to meet Violet. She’s already sitting with a coffee, her sketchbook in front of her. When she sees me, she looks up and breaks a smile.
“What happened? You look way too happy.”
“I talked to him.”
“Who?”
“Liam.” I pace in front of her, waving my hands wildly.
“And he talked to me. Like a lot. He was so nice, Violet. Like not just polite, but friendly. He asked me questions, and he invited me to come to a hockey game.” Or maybe he just said I should go to a game.
Whatever. It’s as close to an invite as I’m ever getting.
“Whoa. Seriously?”
I nod my head quickly like a bobblehead.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe it. What spurred you to do it? Was it all the Pride and Prejudice? Women knew how to speak to dudes back then—cut them with words without even trying.” Her eyes widen. “Ooooh, or was it the dress?”
“My lab partner was absent again, and I got moved to their group.”
“Their?”
“Liam and Jordan,” I grumble the second name a little. It would have been a perfect two hours if it weren’t for him.
“Ah, the bad boy to your good guy crush.” She takes a bite of her sandwich. “One of them is faking.”
“I don’t think it’s Jordan.”
“Then maybe Liam isn’t really that nice.”
“He is, Vi.” I finally sit and remember dreamily how considerate he was. No one else would have welcomed me into their group like that. He was everything I hoped he would be. No, even more.
“All right, if you say so.” Violet leans her elbows on the table. “You finally talked to him. Now what?”
Now what, indeed.