When his brows pressed together in confusion, I said, “Sorry,Princess Bride. It’s one of my favorite movies.”
He blinked twice and nodded but said nothing.
Nickand I worked together during Logan’s class and whenever Nick was free. It had been over three months, and we were so close to finding a solution. Even though he was single-minded in his approach to our project, over time, I worked to get him to relax a bit and have a little fun, little being the operative word.
Turned out he actually had a wicked sense of dry humor, and I enjoyed his company over any of the guys I’d met so far. There was no denying how serious he was, but I appreciated that level of maturity.
There were some tense moments when we didn’t agree on how to approach the solution, but we also made a great team as we learned to trust each other’s observations. He still relied on one-word answers when we were together, but would soon relax as the study session went on.
Some days, I could get him to veer off the project to ask him personal questions about everything and anything. He was always nervous when he’d share things about his family and culture, or that he preferred listening to podcasts instead of watching TV or movies. He hated pineapple on pizza, but loved spicy foods. I always felt those answers were a gift, since he didn’t give them out often.
One day, while we were huddled together in one of the quads, poring over our notes, he took a call from his mother. He apologized and stood up to speak to her, pacing in place nearby. But I could hear his Turkish accent become more pronounced as they spoke, which made me smile.
When I asked him about Istanbul, one side of his mouth quirked up.
“I think I told you that I was born there, but we moved here when I was six. It was quite a transition for me, leaving behind the people I knew. I mean, I was young, but I had friends in school and my neighborhood. Our extended family is still there. But at least here I was able to grow up around my grandparents.”
“I love that for you. I was born and raised here. All my family lived nearby when I was growing up. My older brother, Harrison, and his family live in NorCal now, but we see them a few times a year. It’s good to be near family.”
He nodded. “Yes, it is. My parents, younger sister, and I have lived with my grandparents since we moved here. They all live in San Francisco now. My father was an engineer in Istanbul, but unfortunately, none of his education or experience could be used here. He would have had to go back to college, which wasn’t an option.
“So he’s been working any job he could get. It’s been tough on him. Hard to see him lose all he worked for over so many years, but he thought my sister and I would have more opportunities here in the US, which turned out to be ironic in his case.” His eyes misted over, making me want to hug him.
“Wow, Nick, I’m so sorry to hear that. Can’t imagine how difficult that must be. But they must be so proud of you. To know that their efforts have helped you get where you are,” I said, touching his forearm. “Seriously. You’re a pretty cool guy.” I smiled, peering into those gorgeous dark eyes again, getting a bit lost.
“I, um, I think you are pretty amazing too, Leyla,” he stammered. My breath hitched in my throat at his words. He’d never said anything like this before.
Nick worked a lot of hours, saying it was out of necessity. I wasn’t sure how he managed it all. Some days, he looked like a walking zombie, so I’d bring him coffee whenever I got one for myself.
But my favorite part of working together was him walking me to my next class when we were done in the lab, which made every girl in the science department and beyond envious.
There were times, many times in fact, when I found him looking at me instead of at our work, and would quickly look away when I caught him. I kept waiting for him to ask me out, but either he hadn’t gotten up the nerve, or I was reading him wrong.
One warm afternoon while taking a break on the quad, I checked my phone and stood to leave. We had exchanged phone numbers, but Nick never called or texted. Oddly, he preferred to communicate through our school email. I’d gotten used to his quirks, so I just accepted his request. He was almost never on his phone, a stark contrast to every other student.
“I’m going to grab a quick snack before class.” I held out my hand for my bag, but he carefully placed it on my shoulder, his fingers lingering a few moments on it before pulling away. I was sure I heard him inhale deeply.
“See you later, Leyla.” His deep voice made my stomach flip. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I absolutely was not.
Three weeks later,we were working late in the lab, so close to getting one of our experiments to work. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t find the right formulation.
“Ugh, I can’t see straight anymore,” Nick grumbled, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. I could see the dark circles under them and wished he could take a break soon.
“Nick, let’s call it quits. You’ve got to work tonight, and you’re exhausted.”
“No.”
We were back to his monosyllabic responses.
“Even if we catch a break, you’ll have to leave soon. Then it will drive you nuts to have to walk away.”
When he looked at me with his brows low, I teased, “What? You don’t think I know things about my partner after almost four months?”
There was a hint of a smile before he turned back to the beakers.
“We are so close,” he said, exhaling loudly. “I just can’t figure out what we are missing, and we’re running out of time.” He checked his notebook again, even though we’d been going over it for hours.
“I know we can figure this out. We have three more variables to consider, but if we both don’t get some rest, we’re going to miss something. Let’s pick it back up on Wednesday when you’re free again,” I pleaded, closing my own notebook.
