Page 2 of Trick of Light

“You okay?” Nick asked.

Bethany stuttered with surprise.

Nick’s face contorted. “I’m sorry. You just look a bit… I don’t know. Upset? I hope it wasn’t us.”

“It’s nothing.” Bethany touched her cheek and realized it was wet. Had she been crying? She could just imagine herself with red-rimmed eyes and wild curls.

A crowd of female students streamed past and glanced at Bethany and Nick with confusion. Nick and Bethany practically lived on two different planets. He was utterly handsome, rich, and popular. Bethany had eaten ramen noodles every day for the past three weeks and planned on another round tonight.

“Do you want to study at the diner tonight?” Nick asked.

Bethany crossed her arms. Was he talking to someone else?

“I thought you were studying with Jeff and the guys?”

“I always study with them,” Nick said with a wry laugh.

“I always study alone.”

“And how is that going for you?”

Bethany wanted to remind him that she had the best grades, but she kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t one to brag. She disliked arrogance, especially because it reminded her of her father.

“Come on,” Nick said. “I’ll buy you dinner.”

Bethany locked eyes with him, searching for some sign that this was a joke. Sincerity echoed from his face. A bit of the ice around her heart melted. She tried to tell herself she couldn’t trust him, but another voice—a voice hungry for food and human attention—held more power.

“I’m free at seven,” she said.

“I’ll pick you up.”

Hours later, Bethany and Nick sat at a diner table surrounded by platters of onion rings, grilled cheese sandwiches, milkshakes, and brownies. The calorie count was enormous, but Bethany felt ravenous and free. She wrote notes to herself for tomorrow’s test regarding the surgery and crunched through onion rings, occasionally glancing up to look at Nick. Every time she did, she was struck with amazement. What was the most handsome man in medical school doing here with her? And why did he smile like that when he glanced up to meet her eye?

“You know, my dad asked about you a few weeks back,” Nick said as they gathered their books and prepared to leave.

Bethany was taken aback. “He did?”

“You’re the talk of Savannah.”

“You’re being sarcastic,” Bethany said, shoving her books in her bag and zipping it up.

“I’m not.” Nick laughed. “He asked why my grades aren’t as good as yours.”

Bethany stiffened. “Is that why you wanted to study together?”

Nick continued to smile at her. Bethany tried to drum up anger but was too exhausted to feel anything but curiosity.

“I wanted to study together because I wanted to study together,” Nick said. “I don’t imagine you’ll rub off on me. No medical study has shown that intelligence can pass through osmosis. Devastating.”

Bethany chuckled, surprising herself. Nick threw some bills on the table and waved his hand when she tried to add her half. “I said I’d pay.”

Bethany and Nick walked silently through the dark parking lot and slid into his car. Within seconds, it was glossy and cold from his high-powered air conditioner. Bethany had the strangest instinct to lean across the car and place her head on his shoulder. She held herself back.

Nick flicked through the radio stations and landed on classic rock. Bethany shoved away thoughts of her father, who’d played a steady stream of Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and The Alan Parsons Project throughout her childhood. Her throat felt clogged with emotion as they drove back to her apartment.

As he parked, Bethany remembered when she’d kissed her boyfriend in his dark car as time had ticked toward her midnight curfew. When she’d felt wholly protected in his arms. She hadn’t seen him in eight years, either.

Was she foolish to hope for a kiss from Nick here in the shadows of his car? Yes. But that didn’t keep her from hoping.

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