When I come down from the high, I still feel wound tight. But I can think a little more clearly.
All the same, she’s still the only thing on my mind.
5
SAVANNAH
Dr. Kouris announces the group project assignments at the end of the next week’s seminar, and I feel my stomach drop when she reads my name paired with Romeo's.
"Beauregard and Ciresa—you'll be analyzing the relationship between Minoan religious iconography and the architecture at Knossos. I want a twenty-page paper and a presentation to the class. This is worth thirty percent of your grade."
I glance across the seminar table at Romeo. He's watching me, his eyes focused on me so intently that I have a sudden, odd feeling of being under a microscope. It’s unsettling for a moment, but that feeling doesn’t last. When our eyes meet, he smiles—not the charming, easy smile he gives other people, but something smaller, more private.
It makes my pulse quicken.
"Looks like we're partners," he says after class, as we're gathering our things.
"Looks like it." I'm aiming for casual, but my voice comes out slightly breathless. I clear my throat. "When do you want to meet? To start working on it?"
"Tomorrow? We could meet at the coffee shop or the library. Say, two o'clock?"
"That works." I bite my lip. “You probably need my number, huh?”
Romeo grins. “Probably.”
On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with this. We’re project partners, and we need to be able to coordinate meeting up. Texting is a lot easier than emailing. But I know exactly what Thaddeus—and my father—would think of this.
I push the thought out of my mind and scribble my number down on a piece of paper, handing it to him. “Here. Just text me, and I’ll have yours. Two o’clock is perfect.”
"Good." He's standing close enough that I can smell his cologne. It smells like cedar and something a little floral… bergamot, maybe. "I'll see you then, Savannah."
The way he says my name sends a shiver down my spine.
I watch him leave, and I tell myself the flutter in my chest is just nervousness about the project. Dr. Kouris is notoriously demanding, and this paper will be a significant portion of our grade. That's all this is. Anxiety about academic performance. It has nothing to do with the way Romeo looks at me. Nothing to do with the fact that I'll be spending hours alone with him, working closely together.
Nothing to do with the fact that I've been thinking about him more than I should.
I pull out my phone as I leave the building, and there's a text from Thad waiting.
Thad:Dinner with the Harrisons tonight. Wear something appropriate. I'll pick you up at 7.
I curse under my breath, something I almost never do. The possibility of accidentally cursing in front of my parents or at a social gathering and embarrassing myself wasn’t worth theluxury of doing it in front of friends, or even to myself. But looking at the text, I can’t help it.
I’d forgotten he was coming into town. And the last thing I want to do tonight is go to a stuffy dinner. I’d honestly rather be working on homework.
But it’s not a question. It was never going to be a question. All the same, I feel a strange urge to push back.
I type back:I have a lot of work tonight. Can we reschedule?
His response comes immediately:This is important, Savannah. The Harrisons are family friends. It would be rude not to attend.
I stare at the message, feeling that familiar tightness in my chest. The sense of my life being arranged around me, that my preferences are irrelevant. Of course, Thad doesn’t care if I have homework; my degree is pointless to him anyway.
I let out a sharp breath and text him back.Fine. I'll be ready at 7.
I shove my phone back in my bag and head toward the subway, trying to ignore the resentment building in my chest.
I arrive at the library fifteen minutes early the next day, and I use the time to claim a study room on the third floor. The rooms are small—just a table, four chairs, and a whiteboard—but they're private, with glass walls that look out over the main study area. I spread out my materials: laptop, notebooks, and the three books I've already pulled from the stacks on Minoan religion and architecture. I'm reviewing my notes when Romeo appears in the doorway, exactly at two o'clock.
