Page 60 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

“Here. Let me.”

Gooseflesh bloomed on my arms, and a chill ran down my spine as I turned to find Jack standing right next to me.

I was so surprised to see him that I said, “Alright,” and let him take the bottle from my hands with no thought to the fact that I was more than capable of opening champagne.

My eyes devoured him while he worked at the cork. He looked positively edible tonight in a cream, cable knit sweater and dark jeans. His hair, which had been perfectly styled earlier today, now fell in soft waves around his temples.

When the bottle popped open, he looked up and met my gaze. I sublimated where I stood, but I returned the shy smirk he offered and held out my cup for him to fill.

I took a sip and steeled my nerves. This was my chance to talk to him about this afternoon. “Thank you,” I said.

“No problem,” he said and took a sip from his own cup.

“I meant for earlier today.” Butterflies began to flutter in my stomach. “Can we go somewhere quieter? I can barely hear myself think in here.”

“Sure,” he said. He looked completely at ease, a perfect contrast to how I was feeling. “I know a place. Follow me.”

The butterflies were going wild as I followed Jack out of the gym and down a dark hallway. He opened a door I had never seen before and beckoned for me to follow him in. The music dulled to a manageable level as the door clicked closed behind us. I could finally hear myself think.

By the yellow glow of a security light, I could see thick padding on the walls and floor.

“Where are we?” I asked, wandering deeper into the strange room.

“This is the wrestling room,” he explained. His voice was close. He had followed me into the center of the room.

“I’ve never been in here before,” I said. “Was this room here when we were at school?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I didn’t spend much time in the field house back in the day.”

I hummed noncommittally and took a long sip of champagne while gathering my thoughts. “Well, thanks for bringing me here. I wanted to talk to you about this afternoon with the parents.”

He stood up taller, shoulders drawing back. The yellow light outlined his heartbreakingly perfect figure.

“Look, I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I know it wasn’t my place to speak for you. You’re more than capable of defending yourself. Not that you really needed defending. That guy was totally out of line. It’s no wonder his kid is an asshole too—”

“Wait,” I said, cutting off his rambling. “You think I’m mad?”

His brows pulled together, and he ran a hand along his jaw. “Well, aren’t you? You absolutely have the right to be.”

I couldn’t contain my huff of laughter. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and placed a hand on his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath through his nose, and his dark eyes dropped to mine.

“I was going to thank you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Thank me? For what?”

“Of course. For all the nice things you said. I totally froze when that guy came after me. They were all judging me. I felt like a complete idiot—”

He frowned and grabbed my wrist, holding my hand to his chest. “You’re not an idiot—”

“I know that, but that’s how I felt. But then you spoke up for me. It was incredibly kind, what you said. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated it.” God, I hoped he could tell I was serious.

“You could have just gotten me another LEGO…”

His heart was pounding in his chest. I could feel it under my palm. Mine was speeding up to match. It was going to break through my sternum at the rate it was going.

No one was around. It was just me and this intelligent, beautiful, considerate man. We had gotten off to a rocky start when we met. But so much had changed over the last several weeks.

I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted to kiss him so badly that it was almost a physical pain.