Rusty’s fingers paused their rapid typing, his nose wrinkling. “Gross. You just tainted my victory.”
“Ha, taint,” Dex snickered, and Cya rubbed the space between their eyes.
“Really, Dex?”
Crossing his arms above his chubby belly, Rusty studied Cya, nodding in Dex’s direction. “You sure about him?”
“Honestly, I vacillate,” they said.
“Is that good?” Dex asked, gaze ping-ponging between them.
Rusty snorted a laugh, grabbing the tray and heading out into the dining area as Cya returned their attention to the portafilter.
“Is vacillating good?” he demanded, but they ignored him.
During his break, he stopped in Quin’s office to give her his new class schedule for the coming semester, but he hovered on the threshold when he found Quin and Toni side-by-side on the couch. Toni was hunched over, elbows on his knees, and Quin had a hand on his shoulder in comfort. They both looked up at Dex’s interruption.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, and Toni straightened as Quin stood up.
She wobbled a little, balance thrown off by her round belly, and Toni placed a hand on her back to steady her as he said, “No, it’s cool. Come on in, kid.”
“Everything good?” Quin asked, and Dex nodded as he shut the door.
“Yeah, just wanted to give you my schedule for next semester.” He handed her the list of courses he’d printed out. “One of my required classes changed to Wednesdays at one, so I’ll need to leave early. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Your education is important,” Quin said as she took the schedule and scanned it. “Any other conflicts?”
“No, but if it’s okay, I could start early on Wednesdays. Like work six to twelve, instead of nine to three.”
Turning to Toni, Quin handed him the paper. “Mr. Manager.”
With a tiny smile, Toni took her offering and sat down behind her desk, flattening Dex’s schedule next to the laptop. His face was still drawn, the normal spark in his eyes doused, but he had some color back, cheeks less pale than they’d been last time Dex had seen him.
Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but Dex swore there were a few gray hairs at Toni’s temples that had never been there before. But it was probably just a trick of the light.
Once they’d worked out the change to his work hours, Dex stood to leave.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Quin said, and he quirked his head.
“Huh?”
Her mouth curved in a wry smile. “You and Cya.”
“Word travels fast,” Dex said.
Toni snorted. “You know Gem. He can’t be chill about anything, so he blew up the group chat.”
Dex’s phone was on silent, and he’d been too busy flirting with Cya all morning to check his messages. “Oh, I haven’t read it yet.”
“You and Glyma should charge for matchmaking services,” Toni joked, and Quin rolled her eyes.
To Dex, she said, “It’s curious.”
“What is?”
“You and Cya. Don’t think anyone saw that coming.”
“Sometimes, opposites attract,” Toni said, offering Dex an encouraging wink.
