Page 33 of Follows with Intent

Because the reality was, Nico wasn’t going to finish his paper. He had drafts, sure. He had ideas. And now, after three days of pounding his head against indecipherable glosses of Augustine and Plotinus and Hegel and Nietzsche, he realized he had nothing. Scrap. Shit.

Maya elbowed him, and Nico brought his head up. He opened his mouth to ask what she wanted. And then he saw Jadon.

They hadn’t seen each other since the fumbling awkwardness of the dorm showers, where they had cleaned up after the run. To Nico’s simultaneous relief and disappointment, the showers featured private stalls, and he’d gotten no closer to seeing Jadon naked—not that he wanted to—than his silhouette through the thin curtain. Now, seeing him again in the navy suit and the garnet-colored tie, with his hair back to its sandy-dark perfection even after a day spent in trainings and round tables and whatever else police officers did at a symposium (maybe talk about their favorite time they handcuffed someone?), Nico forgot what he’d been about to say.

Laughing, Maya gave him a push toward Jadon.

“What—” Clark said behind Nico. And then, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Hey,” Nico said.

“Hey yourself,” Jadon said as he stood. “How was the seminar today?”

“Oh my God, I don’t want to talk about the seminar. Also, it was great. And horrible.”

“That is a confusing series of words.”

For some reason, that was enough to make Nico smile. “How was the symposium?”

“Oh, that’s easy: super boring.”

Nico laughed.

The cluster of grad students was already moving off again, talking in low voices, and Clark called, “Nico, we’re not waiting for you today.”

Nico gave a wave without glancing over.

“You can go with your friends,” Jadon said. “I told you, I’m not trying to mess up your life.”

“Jesus, no. I’ve spent all day with them. If I hear Gio say one more time, ‘Yes, but have you considered—’ I’m going to blow my brains out.”

“Well, we don’t want that.”

“Besides, I have to work on this paper. Which I will not finish. Which means tomorrow, I will give a live performance of complete academic self-destruction. And then I will blow my brains out.”

“I liked the first part, but you lost me at the end.”

He was still laughing as Jadon chivvied him toward the library. When the door to Eldridge Hall opened, Nico glanced over out of reflex. Dr. Meza stepped out, and his sharp, inquisitive eyes landed on Nico. It was different from how the professor had looked at Nico in the seminar, and Nico recognized that look. He’d seen it across a lot of bars, in a lot of clubs. He’d seen it on runways, at photoshoots, in agencies. His mouth did what he’d trained it to do a long time ago: a perfect smile that wasn’t a promise but that…suggested.

Interest quickened in Dr. Meza’s face.

And then Nico realized what he’d done. His cheeks heated, and he turned away and walked faster.

“Everything okay?” Jadon asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did you know that guy?”

“He’s a professor.”

Jadon didn’t say anything, and his silence grew as they crossed the quad. The sounds of traffic filtered in from Kingshighway—horns and engines and tires and, of course, ambulances. A group of men and women emerged from Waverley, two of the men shouting over each other about where to get the best wings while the rest of their group was engaged in the kind of collegial conversation that meant none of them knew each other. A girl pushed a cat in a stroller, occasionally stopping to bend and say something to the cat. The sky had deepened to the color of old ash, and for an uncanny moment, it was the same color as the campus’s stained limestone, and Nico couldn’t tell where stone ended and sky began.

He told himself not to look back, but of course, he did. No Dr. Meza. Relief loosened Nico’s body, and then he told himself he was being silly. Nothing inappropriate had happened. Dr. Meza had looked at him, and Nico had smiled back. That was all. It wasn’t like they’d been flirting in class. It wasn’t like Dr. Meza had shown any kind of interest at all.

Not unless you counted the way he looked at Nico. Not unless you didn’t know what that kind of look meant.

And what was he going to do, anyway? Follow Nico into the library and—what? Flirt with him some more? Make a pass? Demand sex in exchange for professional favors? Nico shook his head at himself. The whole thing was ridiculous.

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