Jahlani exhales, recalling their last conversation. “Apparently … I’m emotionally unavailable.”
Teryn kisses her teeth. “What a twat.”
Jahlani snorts. “I’m sorry, ‘twat’?”
Teryn shrugs, laughing. “What? I watch a lot of British television in my downtime.”
Jahlani clears her throat and sips her water when her phone vibrates. Most of the notifications inform her that students have taken the quiz for this week, there’s a Duolingo notification, and a message that makes her blood warm and stomach flutter. Her fingers are quick to tap the screen, and her face flushes.
Roman
Any chance I can take you up on that offer tonight?
Jahlani reads the message once. Twice. A third time, making sure that her eyes aren’tdeceiving her, because the past week, he’s been distant. He barely looks at her during the lectures, and he hasn’t shown up for any office hours. She chews on her fingernail, typing four different responses before finally hitting send.
Jahlani
Sure.
Jahlani clicks the phone shut, setting it down on the table, feeling like a schoolgirl passing notes to her crush.
“What was that?” Teryn asks, raising a perfectly arched brow at her.
“What was what?”
Teryn points an accusing finger at her phone. “That.”
“Nothing. It was just a few messages from students.”
Teryn folds her arms across her chest. “Girl,puh-lease. You can’t fool me.” She leans forward, folding her palms on the table. “It’s a guy, isn’t it?”
Jahlani withers under her gaze but forces out a snort. “No.”
Her eyes widen, and she gasps. “It’s the guy from the bar, isn’t it?”
Jahlani shakes her head, trying to stave off the heat. “It’s not like that … I’m just helping him out a little.”
“Teryn,” Jahlani says, giving her a droll stare. “Nothing is happening. Nothingcanhappen. It’s against university policy, and I would very much like not to get kicked out.”
Teryn shrugs, grinning. “Okay.”
“What?” Jahlani snaps.
“Nothing. Just sounds like you’ve given this some thought.”
“I—what? No … That’s not true,” she says weakly, not even sounding convincing to herself.
Teryn laughs again, wiping under her eyes. “Look, all I’m saying is … you clearly find him attractive, why not have some fun?”
“Fun?”
Teryn rolls her eyes. “Yeah. Fun. Ever heard of it? It’s when you do something that youwant. Crazy concept, right?”
Jahlani looks down at the table, sighing. “No. It’s not part of the plan.”
“Plan?”
Jahlani nods, twisting to sit on her hands. “Yes. I finish my internship hours, get my degree, get a decent-paying job, and pay back my debt.”
