Page 3 of Beautifully Complicated

“Fuck, I should’ve seen this coming.” I thunk my head against the wall with a groan. “The tension between you two never did strike me as actual hate. I just never let myself consider it might be sexual.”

“Why would you? I didn’t consider that either until it just…happened.”

My eyes fall shut with a heavy sigh. “Oh my God. This whole time I thought I was helping you tolerate each other, not…”

I did this. I helped them see each other as more than rivals. I—

“Not what?”

“I—” I shake my head firmly, halting my own confession in its tracks. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a bit of a shock that you’re... I never really saw that coming and I… I need to finish my homework.”

I can’t do this. I can’t sit here any longer and listen to him talk about another man. One I handed him on a silver platter whenIcould’ve been that man if I’d been brave enough to try.

“Right now?” Bennet’s brows draw together as he watches me pop up like the floor is on fire. “We aren’t gonna finish talking?”

“It’s… Yeah, I’ve got a ton of shit to do. And it sounds like you do too if you want to get to Damien’s later. I… I won’t say anything so you can—” I wave my hand aimlessly “—do whatever. I won’t say anything.”

I’m half-expecting him to come after me, and if he does, I’ll have no explanation for the tears streaming down my face. When the knock doesn’t come, I’m tempted to storm into his room and call him out for being too focused on getting to his boyfriend’s to check on me, his best friend.

But I don’t.

I quietly sob into my pillow, mourning what I’ll never have. Wondering why he chose Damien when I’ve been here all along.

Chapter one

Aiden

ONE MONTH LATER

The tiny rainbow flag in the window snags my attention, and before I’ve consciously decided to step inside my hand is reaching for the door. My body must realize there’s no hope of sleep after such a stimulating night, and now that my brain has caught up, it agrees.

A few customers glance my way when the cool evening air follows me inside, but they go back to their drinks and conversations, paying me no mind. That deflates me a little—I wouldn’t decline some conversation—but I didn’t come here for a hookup either, just a drink in a friendly environment, and if that came with some light flirting, I wouldn’t object.

My obliterated heart isn’t ready for anything serious, but as the only single guy in our house, it is a little lonely.

Taking a seat at the mahogany bar, I order a whiskey, sipping on it as I reflect on my evening.

Kier Caldwell is the most fascinating man on the planet.

I’m probably one of few college students who think so seeing as how he’s not a famous athlete or a rockstar or an actor, but his mind is nothing short of genius, and—if I’m being shallow—he’s pretty easy on the eyes too.

His dark hair and bright eyes aren’t nearly as Irish-looking as you’d expect given his name, and there’s no trace of an accent that I can tell, but he’s got the beauty, the brains, and the most mesmerizing voice I’ve ever heard. Listening to him speak is so far the highlight of my young life. All twenty-two years of it.

The things he’s doing with AI to improve people’s lives is nothing short of revolutionary. I’m not talking about thecheat on your homeworkkind of improvement using programs that scrape copyright material to help people cut corners. I’m talking about innovative applications that will actually improve quality of life.

Keir is spearheading the movement to put AI in prosthetics to adjust and optimize their use. No more antiquated plastics that don’t have any function. No more fumbling limbs that are just as likely to frustrate as help. No more being held back because your artificial limbs can’t do what your real limbs could.

Okay, maybe that’s still in process, but Kier is getting us closer to that point. I mean, already AI sensors in prosthetics can interpret the electrical signals from the brain, helping those artificial limbs react to what you want them to do. But now he wants to combine nanotechnology with AI.

Imagine the biosensing nature of limbs made of nanomaterials combined with the sensory capabilities of AI powered prosthetics. Simply put, it’d be like replacing a limb with another limb!

I’m practically vibrating with the possibilities of it all.

When I decided to study computer science, I dreamed of doing something that would make a difference, although I sort of thought that would be more along the lines of helping medical professionals identify and treat diseases. Then I heard about how there was an initiative to put AI into prosthetic limbs, the ultimate goal being to get people back to the same standard of living they had before, and I quickly switched focus.

I’ve loved every second of my studies, learning how to combine hardware and software in a way that can improve one’s quality of life, but the idea that you could essentially mimic a real limb with a prosthetic one using nanotechnology and AI… My nerd brain is on overdrive.

Kier is so forward-thinking. So brilliant. Hearing him speak was a bucket-list item, though now I’m not sure once is enough. He’s just so…inspiring.

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