Page 26 of Head Under Water

He grins. “Is that really a surprise?”

I don’t know how to answer that, so I say nothing.

“I’m always glad to see you.” He fills the silence with the most perfect sentence that has ever been spoken.

I look down, words escaping me, and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

“Hey, listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” He pauses, running his tongue over his bottom lip. His eyes scan the campus, the ivy-covered buildings towering around us. “I, uh…the guy you were with in the library. A while back.”

“Will.” I mutter his name, my hope flickering out like a candle in the breeze.

“Right. Will.” He pauses, studying my face like he’s looking for hidden clues. “Are the two of you…” His brows draw together.

“Oh god, no. Will? No. He’s…” My arch nemesis sounds so childish right now, even if that’s the most accurate description. “We grew up together. Our moms are best friends. But there’s nothing between us. Like, at all.”

“You’re just friends,” he says, confirming.

“Not even. Or, well, sort of. It’s complicated because Professor Gene put us together as the statistics class volunteers, but under normal circumstances, we don’t get along in the slightest.”

He nods slowly. “I just don’t want to get in the way of anything.”

“No, you wouldn’t be.” The answer comes too quickly, too desperately.

A smile spreads on his lips. “Okay. Great. Because…I’d really like to take you out sometime. If you’re… If that…sounds okay. I mean, some people are weirded out about the TA thing, but I’m not your professor, so there’d be no ethical issues. But I still understand if it’s weird for you. I should’ve told you sooner. About being a TA. I just…I really like you.”

My eyes go wide. It’s the last thing I expected him to say. “You do?”

He fights a grin, gaze moving over my face. “Always so surprised.”

“Sorry, I mean, I like you too.”

“Yeah? So, is that a yes?”

“It’s—”

“There’s my bestie.” His voice is a splash of cold water down my back. Regretfully, I pull my eyes away from Banks to look at Will. He slips down on the bench next to me, pushing Banks and me closer together, one arm around my shoulders.

His scent is woody and wet—damp cedar and ocean—and it instantly washes away any trace of the clean, soapy Banks smell I’ve been swimming in.

I try to shrug him off, muttering through gritted teeth. “Go away, Will.”

“No can do, Sister Sue. Professor Gene needs us.” He holds on tight, getting entirely too much joy out of this.

I lock my gaze ahead, refusing to meet his eye. He knows what he’s doing. No doubt he heard at least part of my conversation. “Right now?”

“’Fraid so. Am I interrupting something? I can stand over there if you need to finish up.” He points to a space a few feet away, near a bush.

I’m mortified, and I hate him.

Banks looks down, then meets Will’s eyes, clearing his throat. “No, that’s okay.” He glances at me and brushes my arm. “I’ll catch up with you later, yeah? I’ll text you about that date.” His lips twist with a wry grin. Then, slowly, he moves away, walking backward for several steps as if it hurts to take his eyes off me.

When he’s gone, I turn my entire body toward Will and jerk out from under his arm, my gaze molten lava. “You ruin everything, you know that?”

He scoffs, but there’s a softness to his eyes. Disbelief, maybe. “Oh, come on. You’re not seriously interested in that guy.”

I blink. “It’s none of your business.”

His forehead wrinkles. “He’s a professor, Opal. I knew you were always a teacher’s pet, but come on. That’s creepy. You could lose your scholarship.”