“Said the L word yet? I figured. Doesn’t make it any less true though. It’s clear as day. It oozes out of you both when you’re together. Kinda gross really. To be honest you should probably see a doctor about it.”
Linc laughed. While he was sure of his feelings for her, he wasn’t sure she felt the same. She was fond of him, sure, but love? Did she love him? Was he willing to lay his vulnerability out for her and find out?
“Stop thinking about telling her, and tell her.”
***
The next morning, an email came through about their group project grades while Linc was eating breakfast with Russ in the Sugar Bean.
“What’s with the face?” Russell gestured his spoon at Linc’s phone.
Huh. No freakin’ way.“Got our grades.”
“Aaaand you flunked out? I’m not sure what your face is saying right now.”
“Can’t be right.”
“You’re having a one sided conversation right now, you know that, right?” Russ leaned over the table and stabbed his fork into Linc’s scrambled eggs. “You snooze, you lose.” He scooped them into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Come on, man. Spill. It can’t bethatbad, can it?”
“That’s just it, it’s not. I got an eighty nine on my individual score.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Cleo got an eighty five.”
Russell hissed. “Eesh. That’s gonna sting. She’s all about dem grades, right?”
Linc nodded.
“It’s only a few marks, maybe it won’t be such a big deal.”
Linc closed his email and fired off a text to Cleo.
Lincoln: Buenos días, preciosa, have you seen the results of our English assignment? Go team, Clinc!
Cleo: So, we’re gonna put a pin in the ‘Clinc’ thing.
Cleo: And yeah, I saw it.
Lincoln: I wonder if she mixed the results up and loaded yours to my page by accident.
Cleo: I already checked. She said they’re right.
Lincoln: You… already checked?
The three dots indicating she was replying started moving, stopped, started, and stopped again. What the hell was she trying to say?
Lincoln: Because a dumb jock like me couldn’t possibly outperform you in an English assignment, right?
Cleo: I didn’t say that.
He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He didn’t want to fight with her, but her meaning was clear.
Lincoln: You didn’t have to.
Cleo: That’s not what I meant.
Lincoln: Enlighten me.
