He scoffs at me. “Yeah, maybe one or two.”
“I would have been one of them,” I say.
“And I wouldn’t have,” he replies with a smirk.
It’s so true. I didn’t know Ryan before we worked here, but I can imagine what kind of student he was. The latecomer who never did his homework but aced every test.
“Did you even have to study at all?” I ask.
He tilts his head from side to side. “Kind of? But I feel like once you understand the concepts, you don’t really need to study. It all comes together.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Sure, sure.”
“Come on,” he laughs, sitting back in his chair. “There’s no way you had to study when you were back in, say, algebra.”
I feel the tightness in my stomach loosen at his relaxed pose. This is the conversation I’m used to having with my best friend. I want to say, “There’s my Ryan.” But instead, I just say, “Algebra? No. You’re right. I didn’t have to study then. Doing my homework was enough.”
“You did homework? What a nerd.”
“Hey!” I shove his shoulder lightly, but it doesn’t move. All that surfing does a body good. I don’t move my hand away as quickly as I should, though, and actually give his muscle a slight squeeze. Warmth spreads from my hand, through my arm, and all the way down to my toes.
He looks down at where my hand rests on his shoulder, and his expression suddenly changes. Then his eyes lock on mine, the moment loaded with electric charge. Just a minute ago, we were joking and laughing. Now he looks like I burned him.
I inch my hand away. “Are you okay?”
He relaxes his expression back into a grin. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Do you have a scratch or something on your shoulder?” I reach over to check, but he pulls away so quickly that he nearly falls over in his chair.
He gets up and stumbles a few steps. “I’m uh… Oh, would you look at the time.” He taps his wrist, which is bare, as usual. No watch. “I’m supposed to go meet…Chase. For something.”
“Oh.” I’m suddenly struck that I may have crossed a line with him. Have I touched his arm like that before? We give each other side hugs, like any good platonic friendship. But maybe the way I grabbed his arm just now was too far.
Why does that make me feel disappointed?
I paste on a grin. “Okay. But can we… I… I also wanted to talk to you about my book.”
“Oh.” That makes him pause, but then he looks back at the door. “We’ll do that later. I guess. If you want to.” He clears his throat. “But I don’t know how much time I have to hang out. I’ve got so much going on with the…teaching and the surfing and the…” He waves his hand around, the ambiguity leaving me confused. “You know. So we don’t have to do this more often than necessary.”
More often than necessary?That’s not exactly what a girl wants to hear from her best friend.
I’m a little hurt and speechless, but before he leaves the room, he points a finger at me. “The hours. Monday through Thursday only, but keep it open later. Like four in the afternoon. And maybe just a couple hours on Fridays for the nerds like you.” He throws me one last grin and a wink before exiting the room.
I’m still in my seat, staring at the empty doorway, wondering what in the world is going on with my best friend.
CHAPTER 10
Ryan
“I can’t dothis anymore, man,” I say breathlessly, holding onto the doorframe of Chase’s office.
“Hold on. Slow down. What happened?” Chase looks perplexed by my sudden appearance at his office, which is completely on the other end of campus. I actually had to get in my car and drive over here, since it would be faster than walking. Even so, I feel like I just ran a marathon. Of course I nearly ran over Marshall as I drove over the crosswalk. Just another reason for him to continue his hatred of the math professors.
Unlike the math professors, who are currently in cubicles, Chase has his own private office. I’m jealous, but thankful we get to have this conversation without the prying eyes of our coworkers.
I straighten my thoughts out in my mind. “I can’t be around Claire. Not while I have these feelings for her.”
“Ah.” He sits back in his chair and folds his arms over his head. “And you came to the master for advice?”
