Page 2 of Kept By the Loan Shark

I glared and hissed, “Don’t call him that. He’s a nice guy.”

“That’s what they said about Ted Bundy,” she snarked and left.

Hoping Kyle hadn’t heard her, I went back to grading. He wasn’t a creep. His mannerisms were a bit odd, and he didn’t always recognize when he had overstayed his welcome, but he had always been nice to me and a good friend. He even helped me find the apartment where I had lived for the last two years.

“Hey, Cassie!”

“Hey, Kyle.” I glanced up from the paper I was grading. “You headed home?”

“Not yet. I have a shift scheduled at the counseling center. What about you?”

“I have a few more of these to grade before I head out.”

“Any signs of the next Hawking in that stack?”

I made a face. “I mean, it’s only the fourth week of class so…”

“That bad?”

“Yeah.”

“Did my notes help with your math lecture?”

“Yes! Thank you so much,” I gushed appreciatively. “I was in literal tears trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Your notes made everything so much clearer.”

“Good. I’m glad. Don’t hesitate to ask for my help. What’s the point of having a math nerd living across from you if you can’t dig through my old notes?”

Math nerd was his way of being wildly humble. He was four years into his doctorate in mathematics and had won numerous awards throughout his college career. Without his help, I would have struggled to earn a solid B in my tensor and topology courses. I was pretty good at math, but he was truly gifted and a great teacher. Being able to walk a few feet from my apartment to knock on his door and ask for help had been a godsend. I had managed an A in both courses after his tutoring.

“I seriously owe you for talking me down this morning. I was ready to run out of that lecture hall and never come back.”

“You’re at that point in your education where the math and the concepts just keep getting more complex. You need to believe in yourself more. You’re brilliant, Cassie. You have what it takes. I’ve seen your work.”

“Thank you, Kyle. That’s really nice for you to say.”

“It’s the truth. Do you need me to drive you home?”

We had carpooled to the university together that morning. “Hagen is picking me up, but thanks.”

“Date night?” he guessed.

“Yes, but super low key. Hagen has been traveling all week so we’ll probably do something quiet.”

“Not going to meet up with Taylor on their pub crawl?”

“Definitely not,” I said with a laugh. “You?”

“Not my scene,” he replied and then smiled almost nervously. “I’m taking Hannah to that new vegan restaurant that just opened.”

“You asked her out!” I had been encouraging him to ask her on a date. He had met her at a grad student mixer a few weeks ago but had been too shy to shoot his shot. From what I knew of him, Kyle hadn’t had much experience dating, but he was so nice that I knew he just had to find the right girl. And he had!

“Yeah.” He grinned. “You were right. She was waiting for me to ask.”

“See! Sometimes it pays to be bold.”

“It sure does.” He glanced at his watch. “I should get going. I’ll see you around?”

“Yes—and good luck on your date! I want all the details the next time I see you.”

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