Page 65 of Dared

Drawing back from me, he lifted the flap of the bag that was slung across his body. “Courtesy of my parents. Snacks for you all.”

Connor and Niall crowded around him as he began handing out energy drinks and protein bars while I watched, unable to stop the huge smile that was overtaking my face. Finn caught my eye and gave me a soft, private smile, and I had to bite the insideof my mouth to stop blurting out the words I could never take back. Maybe I’d tell him someday, but today was not that day.

Somehow, the three of them managed to successfully distract me from worrying about the presentation, and in between Connor and Niall throwing sample questions at me and Finn constantly at my side, giving me small reassuring touches, the time passed quickly.

A beeping sound came from Connor’s phone, interrupting his explanation of the additional options function, and we exchanged glances. It was time.

“Fuck,” I whispered, squeezing my hands together in an effort to stop the tremors.

“Leo. Come here.” Seated on the edge of one of the desks, Finn held out his hand to me. As I stepped up to him, he tugged me between his legs, his hands going to my shoulders and then rubbing up and down my arms. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I promise.”

Leaning into him, I exhaled shakily, mumbling an apology against his shoulder. He sighed, wrapping his arms around me and pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. This is why I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Lifting my head, I met his gaze. “Thank you for being here.”

“Always, baby.”

Behind me, there was a loud sigh. “I feel so fucking single when I’m around you two.”

I twisted in Finn’s arms to see Connor pulling a sad face. Niall laughed, and Connor shot him a glare.

“Same when I’m forced to see you and your girlfriend, for that matter. Can all you couples fuck off?” His sad face disappeared. “Just kidding. You know I’m happy for you.”

Another series of beeps came from his phone before any of us could reply, and I didn’t know what I would have said.Yes, I’msingle…I think, but I don’t know for sure. By the way, I think I might be in love with my best friend, and does that mean we’re still friends, or are we boyfriends? How do I know? Help!

“Let’s do this.” Connor opened the door. “Good luck, guys.”

“Good luck,” I echoed, meaning it, and after Niall and Finn had returned the sentiments, we exited the lab. Swallowing hard, I stepped up to the lecture theatre door.

Finn stopped me with a hand on my arm. “You can do this. Remember, you’re a Viking. My little lion.” He leaned forwards, brushing a soft kiss across my lips. “I’ll be right outside waiting for you.”

I nodded, my nerves returning in full force, making my breath catch in my throat, but I held his words in my mind, letting them give me the courage to enter the lecture theatre. I could do this. I was Leo.Lion.

It was time I lived up to my name.

All the preparation we’d done had paid off, and when it came to my turn to present alone, my brain worked on autopilot as I went through the material and explained the reasoning behind my decisions, exactly as we’d practised.

Somehow, I made it through the entire thing without any major issues, despite my sweating palms and elevated heart rate. My hands shook, and I stumbled over my words several times, but I reminded myself to take deep breaths, telling myself that I could do this. Knowing that Finn was waiting right outside for me helped me to make it through.

The one thing my nerves hadn’t let me do was to look at the people responsible for my grade. I knew it was probably better to make eye contact, but instead, I’d fixed my gaze on an emptyrow a little farther back in the lecture theatre. It might cost me percentage points when it came to marking my performance, but it was the only way I was able to make it through my presentation without falling apart.

When I finished, I dared to glance at my lecturer, and he gave me a tiny nod, which I hoped meant I’d done okay. The man next to him spoke my name, and I forced myself to meet his eyes, willing my impending panic away. This was the man who had introduced himself at the beginning as Dave Benson from Dataccelerate Consulting. He was the database expert and, therefore, was the person I needed to impress the most.

“Impressive work,” he began, and my mouth fell open. I clamped it shut almost straight away, but the damage had already been done. The corner of his mouth turned up as I sucked in a shuddering breath. “I’d like to begin by asking how many rows are in your database and whether you envision any limiting issues in a live environment?”

My brain went offline. Completely and utterly blank. Fuck. Panicking, my gaze shot to Connor and Niall, seated at the side of the room. Connor subtly held up both hands, his fingers outstretched, and it all came flooding back to me. This had been one of the questions we’d rehearsed. I cleared my throat.

“F-for the testing environment, we designed it with ten thousand rows. In the—the live environment, we would host it on a bigger platform. Uh, so there would be scope to increase the database potential to a hundred thousand, which we calculated would give the booking site a ten-year lifespan, taking into account the occupancy rate and the number of rows needed for each customer’s information. Th-that’s including the booking extras.”

Dave Benson nodded. Was that a good nod or a bad nod? Not allowing myself to panic, I turned my attention to my lecturer,who was asking me a question about the booking extras, and from there, the rest of the questions flew by in a blur.

When the three of us had been dismissed and we’d exited the lecture theatre, I fell back against the wall, closing my eyes. We’d done it.I’d done it.

A wild rush of adrenaline crashed over me like a wave. I felt invincible in that moment, like I could take on the world.

My eyes flew open as I was yanked into a hard body, spinning me around.

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