Page 126 of The Love Operation

“What if they’re reading a textbook? Something dry, like art theory?”

“Then we’ll tell them it’s emotional-support water. Let’s move.”

The library is nearly empty—just a few scattered students, the ones brave enough to fight the bitter cold and dedicated enough to leave their dorm rooms.

In essence: not many people. But definitely us.

We duck into one of the glass-walled study rooms in the back, the kind with long tables, dry erase boards, and a view of the frozen campus.

“Look, it’s snowing,” I say, pointing out the window.

His face lights up. “Let’s go back out.”

“What? No. We have to study.”

“We can study anytime, and we do. All the time. How often do we get snow?”

I shake my head.

“Come on.”

“No. The snow is not going to take this next exam for us.”

He flops dramatically into the chair beside me as I pull out my notes. The room fills with the scent of warm chocolate. With the snow, the silence, and Benedict beside me, it feels like the perfect place to study.

I pull out a blank sheet of paper. “Shall we map out the urea cycle?” I bob my eyebrows, and he smiles.

“You’re so hot when you talk about carbamoyl phosphate.”

“Don’t give me sexy eyes.”

“Cordelia, we’re about to review liver enzymes. How can I not get turned on?”

I snort, shake my head, and try to refocus. “Let’s review separately, then we can test each other.”

He nods and pulls out his notebook.

I dive in, sketching pathways and molecular structures until my paper is rainbowed with arrows and enzymes and nearly ready to catch fire. I’m mid-drawing when I glance over and slap my pencil down.

His notebook is closed. He’s gripping his hot chocolate and staring out the window, miles away.

I throw my highlighter at his arm. “You’re not studying,” I accuse.

“How can you tell?”

“Your eyes are outside.”

“That’s physically impossible. What kind of doctor are you going to be if you don’t know that?”

“It’s not physically impossible.”

He straightens. “Are you threatening to rip my eyes out and throw them outside?”

“Depends. How long have you not been studying?”

“The real question is . . . do you know this stuff as well as I already do?” There’s challenge in his tone.

“Better, of course.”