Chapter 5 Boy to the Rescue
Five
Boy to the Rescue
In January, the best place to do homework was next to the clothes dryers whirring away in the dorm basement. They provided an endless amount of white noise and constant heat.
Despite the perfect conditions, I was still struggling with my chemistry lab write-up. It was due by the end of the week, and I wasn’t close to finishing it.
A Minnesota University hockey sticker stuck to the desktop I was at kept bothering me. I picked at it with my fingernail, but it wouldn’t scrape off. A bottle of Goo Gone would really come in handy for this job.
I stopped, staring back at my lab results, and the numbers swam together. I opened my textbook. I needed to stay focused, needed to figure out how to do the analysis.
A thud echoed from the washers, and two voices sounded over the machines.
The door to the laundry room shut, and I peered around the corner to make sure I was alone again. But I wasn’t. A head of brown hair bobbed over the appliances. I went back to my work.
I stared at the numbers again. Okay. I had this. All I needed to do was dive in and finish it up. C’mon. Concentrate.
“Hey,” said a male voice.
I jumped in my seat and turned.
It was Texas, without his baseball cap.
“How are you?” he asked.
But my throat had swelled shut. Like when my dander allergy flared up in a house filled with cats.
I swallowed hard and tried to breathe. “F-F-Fine.”
He set his arm on a machine. “You want to get some coffee?”
My skin tingled. “Right now?”
He nodded.
My heart raced. I think Texas is asking me out. On a date.
I stared down at my lab book and then up again, straight into those chocolate-candy-colored eyes of his.
In a businesslike voice, I said, “I can’t. I’m busy right now. Maybe some other time.”
Some other time? Omigod. I didn’t even know what I was saying.
Because he was supposed to be an asshole who hadn’t said one word to me since he’d stuck his tongue down my throat then banged a different girl. I couldn’t stop Emma’s disapproving words from playing on repeat in my brain.
The reality was I shouldn’t go with him anywhere, ever.
Dorm people would see us together and wonder who I was, what kind of girl Texas had chosen to chew up and spit out.
Never again would I be able to handle being the subject of mass ridicule, heckling, and gossip.
Last year and the stuff with my dad had been enough.
He peered over my shoulder. “Are you working on your chem lab?”
I nodded, but I needed him to go away. Or stay. Or…
He hooked his foot around the chair next to mine, pulled it over, and sat down.
My heart was pounding so loud, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hear him.
He grabbed my notebook and slouched back to look at it. “You’re using the wrong equation, that’s all.”
“I am?”
He sat up, scooted forward, and paged through my textbook.
I smelled cucumbers again, this time with a hint of mint ice cream, and I imagined myself melting in my chair. One big puddle of sweet desire.
Flipping to a page, he pointed. “You need this one. Calculate the concentration of your analyte for each stage of the titration and chart the curve so you can see both of your equivalences. Then you’ll have it.”
I felt like a marble statue in an art museum. I couldn’t move. I’d heard him. I’d understood him. I was grateful for his direction and the fact that I hadn’t been too far off. I just couldn’t figure out what to say.
Ding. My cell phone sounded on the desk.
I grabbed it.
PRIYA
Where are you?
Studying
I pressed send and set it back down.
He folded his arms and examined me. I wanted to crawl under the tabletop.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked.
I shot him a laser look. “Of course not.”
“It sure seems like it.” He stood and pushed the chair back where he’d found it.
I wanted to grab his arm. Tell him to stay. To let me explain. Even though I’d never be able to put words to any sort of explanation that would make sense.
He picked up my phone. The screen was still on and unlocked.
A flood of heat raced through me.
“Wait…” I reached out to stop him. “What are you doing?”
He stepped back out of my reach, and my fingertips grazed his arm.
“I’m putting my number in here.” He started typing. “When you’re ready, you can text me and we can get that coffee.”
He set my phone back on the desk, and my heart dropped like it had decided to jump off a bridge and I hadn’t been able to stop it.
“See ya.” He walked away.
“Thank you for the chemistry…” And for some embarrassing reason, my words stopped. Help. I meant to say chemistry help. I hadn’t finished the sentence, and now it was too late. Too awkward. My face heated to the temperature of a Bunsen burner.
He swung around and smiled, creases sinking into each side of his mouth. He lifted his hand and waved. “No problem.”
And then he was gone. The pulse in my throat fluttered to a frenzy. I snatched up my phone and scrolled through my contacts to D. There it was. No last name. Just Dallas.
My thumb hovered over the entry, but I didn’t tap on it, afraid I’d accidentally call him. I turned off my screen and put my hand over my heart. Omigod. What had just happened?