“Maybe they were waiting to gather more information?” I offered.
“I don’t think it’s a student,” Brock said. “The email came from a Yahoo account. Nobody under the age of thirty would use one of those.”
“That’s not the most scientific guess,” I muttered.
“It’s more scientific than your theory,” she shot back angrily.
“And thanks for making me feel old. I still have my old Yahoo email account,” I added.
“Of course you do. You’re ancient,” Brock said with a little more venom in his tone.
“Please don’t fight over this,” Lila interrupted. “It’s already stressful enough. Teammates, not competition, right?”
I shared a look with Brock, then said, “Right.”
“Your fighting is also distracting me,” Cam chirped up. “Me, the one person actively working on fixing this problem. So if you guys want to argue, do it in another room!”
Brock blinked, then glanced at me with a look that said:when did he get so assertive?
Right?I shot back at him with my eyebrows.
“Hey, can you change one of my grades?” Brock asked him. “Like in Ferris Bueller?”
Without glancing, Cam asked, “What’s a Ferris Bueller?”
Brock sank back into the couch next to Lila. “Oh my God. Now it’s my turn to feel old.”
“Stop distracting him,” I said. “Cam, are you making progress at all?”
“Too early to tell.” He stopped to look over at us. “IthinkI’ll be able to get some information on whoever made this Yahoo account, but it will take a few hours, minimum.”
Cam closed his laptop and sighed. “I’ll work faster if I have more real estate.”
“Real estate?” Lila asked.
“More computer monitors. So I can look at four different lines of code at the same time. I’m heading back to my dorm room.”
“Keep us updated?” I said.
“I’ll put all my updates in the group chat.”
I clasped hands with him, then decided to go in for a hug instead. He felt awkward in my arms for a moment, then returned the embrace.
“Good work, dude,” Brock said as he, too, hugged the younger man.
“Don’t congratulate me yet.”
Lila hugged him for a long time, then kissed him slowly on the lips. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry this is happening,” Cam told her. “I’m sorry if I caused all this trouble, that’s not what—”
“You didn’t cause anything,” she reassured him. “This isn’t anyone’s fault except mine.”
Cam tried a hopeful smirk, then shouldered his bag and left.
“You two don’t have to stick around,” Lila told us. “I’m not in the mood for anythingfun. If you want to get home…”
“There’s so much more about you that I care about beyond sex,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
