And I’m not willing to lose her.
CHAPTERTWELVE
JESSIE
Office hours are not supposed to be sexy.
Yet somehow sitting next to Mac at the tables in the student labs is one of the most sexually charged scenarios I’ve ever been in.
We had a few more rounds of observation with Professor Campbell earlier today and decided to stay behind after to work on some coding. Every so often Mac will press his leg against mine or knock his arm gently against me. And every time, it sends a shock of electricity through me. The touch is never quite enough. It makes me want to lean into him, to feel what it might be like to rest my head on his shoulder. Would he kiss my forehead? Or maybe he’d just kiss me. It’s only Monday, but ever since we studied together on Friday at the library, I feel like I’ve thought nonstop about what it would feel like for him to kiss me.
Even now I’m so lost in daydreaming that it takes me a few minutes to realize Mac is saying my name.
“Jessie?”
“Yes, sorry.” I blink a few times.
“Where did you go?” Mac asks, a soft smile on his face.
“Nowhere, I didn’t— Sorry, did something happen?”
“Sara said we could go.”
We gather our things in silence, and I say goodbye to Mac as we leave the room so I can use the restroom before heading back to my dorm to study and get some lunch. But when I emerge from the bathroom, Mac is leaning against a wall, hands tucked into his pockets.
“Were you waiting for me?” I ask.
“No, I was just waiting.”
“In a general sense?”
“Yes. Just general waiting. Waiting for time to move. Waiting for snow to fall, paint to dry, all of that.”
We stand there grinning at each other, amused by each other, though I narrow my eyes at him so he knows I’m onto him.
“I thought I’d see if you wanted to get lunch,” he says, stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets.
“I’m actually crazy busy today.”
“Studying?”
I nod.
“Nerd.”
I smile.
“Let me buy you lunch,” he says.
“If you insist.”
We fall into step together.
“I’m surprised you’re still on campus this week,” I say. “I thought most people had gone home by now since Thanksgiving is on Thursday.”
“I usually wait a little longer. With all my brothers and their partners, it gets pretty cozy.”
We walk together through the science building and outside, toward the cafe. I zip my jacket up all the way, and Mac pulls on a beanie. Handsome as always, but it doesn’t irritate me like it used to. Well, only a little. Is it really fair for someone to be that good-looking and smart?
