“I’m notglowy.”
“You are,” Layla puts in, and now the whole table is looking at me.
“Listen, I’ll accept that I’m a hot mess since I literally rolled out of bed and showed up to work today. And then I’ve proceeded to plow through my day on little more than a granola bar and a coffee IV, so yeah, I’m probably a bit of a wild-eyed mess. But I’mnotglowing.” I take a pointed bite of ravioli to shut myself up.
Logan clears his throat beside me. “The simulation data was very encouraging.” His voice is steady, but I catch the way his fingers tap once against the table—his tell when he’s improvising. “That might be the cause of any perceived... glowiness.”
“Simulation data doesn’t make people glow,” Serena says, her eyes narrowing as she looks between us. “But other things do.”
I stuff more ravioli into my mouth to avoid responding. It’s delicious, but I barely taste it. My heart is pounding so loudly I’m sure everyone can hear it.
“Let’s focus on the task at hand,” Bennett interjects, mercifully changing the subject. “Audrey, Logan—what’s your timeline for the clinical protocols?”
Logan jumps in with the answer, all business now. I watch him as he talks, the way his hands move when he’s explaining technical concepts, the precise way he organizes his thoughts even when they’re complicated. I’m fascinated by the little furrow that appears between his eyebrows when he’s concentrating. I’ve seen it a thousand times before, but now all I want to do is smooth it away with my fingertips. With my lips. Or maybe while I’m sitting on his face…
It’s strange, feeling this much and not being able to analyze my way through it. I keep waiting for my brain to catch up. To produce a framework, a model, some way to understand what’s happening between us. But there’s no algorithm for this. Just the terrifying, exhilarating freefall of actually feeling something without a safety net.
I excuse myself when Logan starts getting into the technical specifications for the next round of testing. “Be right back,” I murmur, sliding my chair back and slipping out of the conference room.
The bathroom is blissfully empty when I push through the door. I lean against the sink, finally letting myself breathe. In the mirror, my reflection stares back at me—cheeks flushed, hair slightly mussed, eyes bright. Maybe Serena’s right. Maybe I am glowing.
I splash some cold water on my face, trying to collect myself. This is ridiculous. I’m staring at my reflection when the bathroom door swings open and I nearly jump out of my skin.Serena strides in with Layla right on her heels, both of them wearing identical expressions of determined curiosity.
“Spill,” they say in perfect unison.
“Jesus!” I press a hand to my chest. “Ambush, much?”
Serena leans against the door, blocking my escape. “Something’s going on. We want details.”
“Preferably all of them,” Layla adds. “Chronological order.”
I consider my options: lie, deflect, or make a run for it. I go with the lie.
“Nothing’s going on. Just work. Zero drama.”
Layla’s eyebrows shoot up. “That is the worst lie I’ve ever heard, and I once watched Serena convince a bar full of men that she invented twerking.”
“I said Itaught Cardi B. Different claim entirely.” Serena wiggles her eyebrows. “But she’s right—you’re radiating something-happened energy. So?”
I sink back against the counter. There’s no universe where I get away with not telling them.
“You know how Logan and I have had some… tension?”
Layla snorts. “‘Tension’ is a word for it.”
“Well…” My cheeks burn. “We talked.”
“Talked?” Serena’s face scrunched up as if I just forced a lemon into her mouth. “That’s it?”
I roll my eyes. “We also kissed a little.”
Both of them shriek. Serena might actually explode—her entire body goes rigid, then she gives an unhinged little hop, hands flying to her face.
Layla howls. “I fucking knew it!”
“Wait, when? Where? Was it in the lab? I know it was in the lab. Nerds get so hotted up over sciencey stuff!” Serena nearly vibrates out of her shoes.
Layla slaps Serena’s arm. “Let her breathe! Audrey, when was this? Oh my god, did it happen right before the meeting? You were both late. You literally walked in at the same time.”
