“You didn’t have to be so rude to her.”
“What if you had a life threatening allergy and didn’t notice? They should take restrictions more seriously,” he mutters.
I smirk. That was cute.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I shake my head. “Let’s get started.”
“What are the layers of the adrenal gland?” I ask Max. He sits there for a moment, staring off. No thoughts behind his eyes.
It’s this look and how he sits that always made me think he wasn’t smart. He’s just better at hiding it than me.
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t made out to be a nerd.
“Capsule. Zona glomerulosa. Zona fasciculata. Zona reticularis. Medulla.”
“Perfect. What cells are in the adrenal medulla?
“Chromaffin cells.”
“What part of the nervous system are they an extension of?”
“Sympathetic.”
He answers each question now, quickly and correctly. I look at him, head tilted and feeling guilty. I shake my head.
“What is it?” He asks.
“I’m sorry that I said you’d never be a nurse,” I say.
“You didn’t.”
“That first day we were-”
“I know,” he interrupts me. “We have a clean slate, pretty boy, anything you said before doesn’t matter.”
“It matters. I want you to know that I don’t think you’re an idiot.”
“Great. Thank you. Apology accepted. Next question.”
Sighing, we continue. I go through all the flash cards, quizzing him. He passes with flying colors. We switch, him asking me, and I pass too.
The chatter in the room dies down. Students leave. Employees clean. The sun sets. Time flies as we sit here, and it feelsright.There is no weird tension between us. No hatred. Just two guys, studying, and nothing else.
Nothing else despite that tingling I have inside when I look at him. Despite me noticing the dimple in Max’s cheek when he smiles just right or the crows feet by his eyes. Or the way he grips his pen tighter when he’s thinking.
I notice things about him that I don’t usually notice on others.
“You hungry again?” Max asks me.
“Yeah. I could go for something,” I shrug.
“You wanna go to Timbermill?” He offers.
Oh. He wants to go somewhere. With me. Alone.
Sure, we’re alone now, but we have the safety of the campus around us. Something feels wrong about going out and somewhere else.
