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Daniel blinks, then huffs a small laugh that I’m pretty sure isn’t making fun of me. “Nah, it’s okay. I don’t think I am. I just learn better by doing the thing. Labs, I’m great. Pages of words and equations?” He makes a face. “My brain just checks out.”
“Oh.” I hitch up my bag. Then taking notes is a waste of time for him. He probably won’t read them again. “Then record the lectures. Or write in blue ink, the brain remembers things better if you write in blue.”
His whole face does that smile thing again. I really like it for some reason. “See. Friends already. You’re giving me study tips.”
I look at the floor so I don’t stare at him like an idiot. “It’s just practical.”
“Uh-huh.” He tips his head toward the door. “Where you going next?”
“Language Arts for French.”
“Dang, you have the sexiest brain.”
“What?”
“You are so smart. Teaching yourself shit and a different language. It’s hot.” He follows me out the door, falling into step next to me. “I mean, I’m not hitting on you. You’re my roommate, and I’m not dating anyone anyways.”
“And I’m not gay.”
“Right, yeah, that would be an issue, too,” he laughs as if he didn’t just call my brain sexy. “Noted. Just friends.”
“Okay.”
My face is still hot. I start walking faster, which doesn’t help, because his legs are longer and he just…stays next to me, like a puppy again.
“So, French,” he says. “That’s impressive. I’ve tried learning different languages mostly because of crushes I’ve had. I was really crushing on this one guy, he was from Japan and I tried learning Japanese to impress him. And another time, in High School, we had a foreign exchange student stay with us. So I tried to learn German. I did end up learning a few things. But you don’t care about that,” he says with a laugh.
I don’t correct him and tell him that I am interested. There is just something about the way he talks that is a little fascinating. The silence that falls doesn’t last long before he’s breaking it with another question.
“What are you going to use French for?”
I tug my backpack further up my shoulder and contemplate how much I should share. People usually just want the short version. That it’s an elective or a requirement. But that’s not what it is.
“There’s a master’s program I want to get into,” I say. “Some of the best programs are in France. They specialize in it. If I can actually get in, I need the language. At least enough to sit in a lab and not be useless because I don’t understand what is being said.”
Daniel looks at me as if I just told him I was going to the moon. “Wow. That’s…Quinn. That is huge.”
I shrug. My ears are hot again. “It’s a plan. And sometimes plans fall through.”
“Yeah, but you have one.” He grins, softer than the sexy-brain grin. “See. Sexiest brain. I take it back. I mean…I don’t take it back. Friends. I’m shutting up now.”
I laugh. “You’re not good at shutting up, are you?”
He falls behind a step, and I glance back at him, lifting an eyebrow as I wait for his reply. He shakes his head. “Nope.”
We make it to the Language Arts building, and I should feel relieved I get to escape the conversation. Weirdly, I’m not.
“This is me,” I say, shifting on my heels.
“Yeah, you said,” he says, giving me a quizzical look. “Have fun with French.”
He stops at the bottom of the steps, his hip against the hand rail. I turn toward him, capturing my lip between my teeth. “I’ll see you later.”
He nods, his gaze dropping down to my feet and trailing back up. It makes me feel hot. Before I can examine it too closely, he backs away. “I’ll be back to the dorm late. I have plans with one of my friends.”
“Okay.”
I take the stairs two at a time, attempting to outrun the strange feeling growing inside of me. Behind me, I hear Daniel’s shoes on the path, heading the other way. I head inside and don’t look back the way I want to. I can’t explain any of this, and I’m sure Lincoln is going to take one look at my pink cheeks and ears and ask me a million questions I don’t have answers for.
