“We pick up books, flip to a random page, and read the most interesting line from the page.”
Ash picked up a pink paperback and flipped to page one hundred and seventeen. They scanned the page, looking for a line they could read to Luke. When they found it, they placed their index finger on the first word of the sentence, closed the book, and held it to their chest.
“Okay,” Luke said, holding a blue paperback in his hands. “Can I go first?” When Ash nodded, Luke opened the book and let out a short laugh. “I’ve never thought of using a zucchini like that.” Luke could barely get the sentence out before he burst into loud, raucous laughter.
Ash couldn’t contain the bubble of laughter that exploded from their lips. What the fuck had Luke picked up? “Oh my God. What the fuck?”
Luke clutched his chest as he struggled to stop laughing. “I don’t even know how I opened to the perfect page. Thatalonemakes me want to read the book.”
“Okay, my turn,” Ash said once they both finally calmed down. “Without you, life would cease to have meaning.”
“I see we went two different routes,” Luke said, putting his book back on the shelf and picking up another.
Ash took a purple book off the shelf behind Luke. Maybe they would get something as funny as Luke did. Ash giggled as they found a line they wanted to read. It wasn’t as funny, but it still made Ash laugh. When Ash looked up from their book, they saw Luke already looking at them.
“I’ll go first this time,” Ash said, opening their book to the bookmarked page. “No one ever falls onto an object so perfectly that it goes up their ass.” Ash let a little laugh slip past their lips, but Luke didn’t laugh.
“The zucchini was funnier,” Luke said with a wry smile. He cleared his throat and opened his book. Luke licked his lips and swallowed. Without looking down at the book, Luke spoke. “He couldn’t stand the way they looked at him, like he was irresistible. Even though he knew it was wrong, all he wanted to do was pull them to his chest and kiss them like there would be no repercussions.”
Ash’s breath caught in their throat. "That wasn’t from the book, was it?” Ash’s voice was barely a whisper.
“No,” Luke said, breathless.
It took everything in Ash not to step forward and kiss Luke. Fuck, they wanted to. Luke’s eyes darkened as he looked at them like they were the only person in the world. Ash’s heart thrummed in their chest; they could feel it in their ears. Suddenly, they were overwhelmed by being so close to Luke. If they didn’t step away right now, they were going to kiss him, and they couldn’t let that happen, not when they had been working so well together.
“I want to kiss you, Luke. But…”
“No buts,” Luke whispered.
“We can’t.”
“Screw the handbook.” Luke took another step towards Ash until they were inches away.
“It’s not just that,” Ash said, taking a step backward to put some distance between them. They couldn’t think when they could feel the heat radiating off Luke’s chest. “We work so well together. If we pursue a relationship and something happens so wecan’twork together… I don’t think I’m willing to risk that. This research is too important to me.”
“Ash.” Luke breathed their name. “You have no idea what this research means to me. Give me the word, and I’ll back off. But it feels like you want this too.”
Ash parted their lips to speak, but their voice was trapped in their throat. They didn’t want to tell Luke to stop, but that gnawing feeling at the back of their mind told them to.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Ash finally said.
Luke took a step back from Ash. “I understand. I’m sorry for pushing it. I just… I haven’t felt this connection with someone before. For the record, if you ever decide you want to take a leap of faith, my answer will always be yes.”
Fuck, this man was right out of a romance novel. He knew just what to say. Ash hoped one day, they would be able to leap, but today, they had to deny their heart’s desire in pursuit of science.
Chapter seven
The worst part about migraines was Ash never sensed them before they came on. One second, they were fine, enjoying the day, and the next, they needed to get home in five minutes or die trying. Ash looked up from their modeling software and slowly closed their laptop a few inches while the program ran. Maybe they needed a screen break.
Luke was bent over the bench, pipetting reagents into his plate. Ash hadn’t realized it before, but the pipette looked almost small in Luke’s hand. Were his hands reallythatbig? Ash allowed themself one quick appreciation of Luke in a lab coat before rubbing their eyes with the heel of their hands. Fuck, they needed to stop looking at Luke like that. Lab coats weren’t even sexy. But then why did Ash’s heart race when they looked at Luke in one?
Ash glanced around the lab, assessing the pain in their head. Maybe the migraine would subside in a few minutes, like it sometimes did. Maybe they had been clenching their teeth or scrunching their brow. But then Ash noticed the brightness of the room. Were the fluorescent lights always so assaulting? It was all over. Ash was getting a migraine.They had about fifteen minutes until it was really bad; they needed to get home.
“I hate to do this, but I need to go home. I feel a migraine starting,” Ash said, taking a glance at their computer to see if the simulation had finished. It hadn’t. “I’m going to leave this running and hope I can come back to analyze the results later.”
Luke looked up from his pipetting, flipping his loose curls out of the way of his safety glasses. “Are you okay? Do you need a ride home?”
Ash shook their head. “I should be okay, but thank you. I’ll see you later. Good luck with your work.”
