Page 73 of Debugging Love

“You’ve said that before.”

“Well, I meant it.”

“So, what did I miss?” He’s still close, his body a raging ball of plasma, trapping me in its orbit. My eyes rest on the triangle of skin revealed by his V-neck. This must be what Jupiter feels like. Or thanksgiving turkeys. I look at his shoulder instead–his strong, broad, capped shoulder–and my hormones flare. Nowhere is safe.

What is up with him? Weirdo Chance acting all weird. And why don’t I mind it? My stomach doesn’t, anyway. It’s riding a roller coaster, the ups and downs making the slurry in my stomach lurch. It’s more fun than it sounds. Time to put on my professional face.

“You missed Heng’s update. He’s making good progress on his module. He’s completed five tasks, which he moved to the ‘Completed’ column like I asked.”

Chance crosses his arms. “That’s good.”

“It is. He’s good at following instructions.”

“I am too.”

“Really?”

“I just follow them my own way.” He drops his arms and turns up the dial with that grin.

“Which isn’t following them. Which is why I have no idea what your progress is because you haven’t been using my kanban board.”

“I’ve been working at my desk all day every day this week. What do you think I’ve been doing?”

“Playing Wordle.”

“I’m not that talented.” He holds up both hands, palms facing me. “I only have two hands and they’ve both been working diligently on your benefits portal, Danni.” He steps closer.

“Ourbenefits portal. And why are you saying my name like that?”

“Like what?”

My stomach is having the ride of its life. This is so unprofessional. But he started it. “Never mind,” I blurt.

His grin turns into a full smile. “Do you trust me, Danni?”

“I have no reason to trust you.”

“Then let me make it easy for you. I’ve never missed a deadline. I’ll have my module complete and ready to go to test on the drop-dead date.”

“You better. My promotion is riding on this.”

He places a hand on the wall beside me and leans closer, his scent making me sizzle. “Trust me.”

My insides turn to ash under his gaze. I’m officially cooked. “Prove it.”

He cocks his head and pushes off the wall. “I will.”

And he’s gone.

In his wake, I start floating. So high my head enters Cloud Cuckoo Land. My entirebodyenters Cloud Cuckoo Land. Princess Unikitty greets me with, “Any Idea is a Good Idea...” I have no idea what she’s talking about, because I have no ideas. Especially none about Chance. Gravity doesn’t exist up here. It’s a burden for those land dwellers, not me. I could do flips and endless somersaults.

Instead, I drift up four flights of stairs, barely noticing where I’m going, my heart pounding but not from strain. At the top of the stairs, I find the door to our office and glide in. My eyes immediately latch on to Chance. He’s working diligently on the benefits portal app like he promised, which tugs on my heart and makes me feel even more lightheaded.

Water. I need water.

I circle Chance. He doesn’t budge, his eyes fixed on his monitor. A touch of sadness lowers my altitude. Why is he looking atthatinstead ofme?

No, I’m not sad. I’m happy. I’m floating. But I need to come down. Fast. A little ice-cold water will surely do the trick.

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