Page 54 of Penalized Love

“Sorry, I zoned out for a second there.”I lick my lips to cover up my nervousness.“Can you run that by me again?”

Asher chuckles.“Sure thing. So, for this equation, you need to...”

As he continues his explanation, I force myself to concentrate on his words rather than on anything else. Slowly but surely, the numbers and symbols start making sense. Asher’s guidance and the caffeine from the coffee work their magic, and I nod along as the terms start to make sense.

“I think I’m starting to get it now,”I play with my ponytail because I don’t want to look him in the eye.“Thanks. I’m now convinced you’re a better teacher than my actual professor.”

Asher grins, and it takes me back to happier times when we were a couple. He still looks like the boy I fell in love with, with slightly more scruff at the moment.“Happy to help. Let’s see if we can get your laptop sorted out.”

He reaches for my laptop and his fingers brush against mine as he pulls it toward him. The brief contact sends a jolt throughmy entire body, and I hope he doesn’t notice how my breath catches in my throat. My thoughts circle back to how he used to use those fingers on me. Time after time, from the moment I gave him my virginity until the very end, it had been absolutely magical, and it’s something I don’t regret, even with how we turned out.

I just realized he didn’t use his fingers on me the last time we were together.

Am I ovulating? I must be ovulating. I have to keep laughing in order to keep from crying about my diagnosis.

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with here,”he says as he examines the frozen screen. He taps a few keys, tries the trackpad, then the mouse, but nothing happens.“Hmm, looks like it’s really stuck.”

“Yeah, I was in the middle of editing some photos when it just froze up on me.”I sigh, leaning back in my chair.“It’s been a day.”

“I get that completely. Okay, let’s try a hard reset. That will do the trick.”

He presses and holds the power button until the screen goes dark. I could have just done that myself, but I felt more comfortable bitching and moaning to myself. We both wait as he powers it back on, hoping for a miracle.

As the laptop comes back to life, I hold my breath, praying that it hasn’t lost my work. The familiar startup sound plays and the screen lands on my desktop background. I let out a sigh of relief when Asher wiggles the mouse and the cursor moves.

“Thank fuck,”I say out loud with thinking.“You’re a hero.”

Asher chuckles in response.“You’re welcome. Glad I could save the day.”

“Seriously, what would I be doing without you?”

“Probably still be staring at a frozen screen and cursing the universe and everyone else out.”He takes a longer drink from his coffee, looking far too pleased with himself.

I can’t help but laugh.“You’re probably right. But don’t let it go to your head.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”He grins, and it feels like old times for a moment. It’s nice, even if it’s temporary.

As we sit there, sipping our coffee and eating our sandwiches, the tension in my shoulders starts to ease. If I can remember the things he told me about math, I might have an actual shot at passing this class. Editing my images will come, but I do feel some relief. Having this time where I don’t have a camera in his face reminds me of the question I wanted to ask him several weeks ago at this point.

“This is random, but remember when you offered me your coat at the volunteer event a couple of weeks back?”I ask.“You left a bag of Skittles in one of your pockets.”

“I know.”

“Why? And had you planned to offer me your coat?”

“Honestly?”

I nod, waiting for him to respond.

“I was planning on giving you the candy, but I didn’t have a master plan to give you my coat that day. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing when I noticed you were cold.”

I tilt my head, studying Asher’s expression.“So the Skittles were just a random act of kindness?”

“I guess you could say that. I just thought they might cheer you up.”

The conflicting emotions that are coursing through me are causing a war. I shouldn’t be enjoying any of this, but I can’t help but smile at that. It’s such a small gesture, but it means more to me than he probably realizes.“Well, consider me cheered. Skittles are still my fav.”

“I’m glad. I figured they would be a safe bet. And I have a question for you.”

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