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“And suddenly, I understand why.”

I bite the inside of my cheek.

He sees it.

“There!”

“What?”

“You nearly laughed.”

“I did not.” I look away.

“You did. I saw it.”

“You’re imagining things.”

My eyes betray me for half a second.

His grin turns lethal.

Oh, fuck off.

“Next question.”

The tailor circles him with efficient, impersonal hands, then looks over at me. “And you’re happy with the fit through the chest? It’ll be taken in slightly before the event.”

He’s asking me.

“Looks good,” I say. “A very nice…fit.”

“She’s very thorough,” Cal tells him, solemnly.

I am going to kill him.

The tailor makes another note and disappears again.

Cal drops his arms and steps off the podium. I am looking very hard at my flashcards when he reaches past me to grab a water bottle from the shelf behind my chair. He’s close enough that I catch his aftershave. God, he smells delightful. I hold very still.

“So,” he says, right next to my ear. “What’s the verdict, Doc? You think I’m going to pass?”

I clear my throat. “I think so. You’re actually trying, which I’ll admit surprised me.”

He steps back. Sits on the edge of the little podium, forearms on his thighs, water bottle turning in his hands. The posture makes him look younger somehow.

“It’s got to be certain,” he says. The easy tone has dropped. “I need to pass this year. That’s not negotiable.”

I look at him. There’s something underneath the confidence. I recognize it from the lab, from the moments when he thinks I’m not paying attention. He wants this, badly.

“Alright,” I say. “Back to it then.”

We work for another fifteen minutes. He actually knows more than he thinks he does; he just doesn’t trust the knowledge yet, so he hesitates. It’s shockingly sexy, how seriously he takes this. How much he’s trying. I’m in the middle of explaining sensory neurons when the door opens, and the tailor returns carrying a jacket.

“Let’s try the full suit.”

I look at my flashcards. I look at the wall. I look at my flashcards again.

Then, in spite of every sensible instinct I have, I glance up at the mirror.