Page 42 of Beautifully Complicated

Taking a leap, I guess what his words might be. “You thought I didn’t mean it. That my feelings for him aren’t a fraction of what they are for you.”

He presses his lips together firmly and gives me a quick, curt nod.

“I know you’re afraid to trust me on this, and I get why.” I keep pressing forward. “But honestly, rather than being jealous of Bennet you should be grateful. Without him, I might not be able to say with absolute certainty that what I feel for you is more than the infatuation I felt for him. It’s—"

“Hey, looking way too serious over here,” Professor Daniel Kincaid sidles up to Kier, who once again seems to stiffen slightly. I don’t blame him. Professor Kincaid is nice and all, but I don’t think he grasps the concept of personal space as well as he should. And given his proximity tomyman—yeah, I said it—I tense as well.

“That algorithm thing has you both in a fog. Put it away for the night.”

“Hi, Professor,” I mumble, doing my best to look happy to see him.

“Aiden,” he beams. “You should’ve been my TA. I’d never have you talking about work on a Friday night.”

Kier’s jaw is clenched so tight you could almost convince me it’s wired shut.

“Maybe next semester,” I say.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kier barks. “If you want to work in prosthetics, you’d be far better off staying put.”

“The boy’s only trying to be polite.” Professor Kincaid winks at me before turning to face Kier. “The department wants to do a group song, so your presence is required. No excuses.”

Jaw still rigid, Kier nods at me. “Aiden. I’ll see you next week.”

“Yes, sir.” I watch as Kier is led away, then make my way to my roommates’ table. Fortunately, it’s just to the side of a pillar that keeps Kier’s table out of view, so even though I’m tempted to look his way, it’s too futile to try.

Oddly, that doesn’t make me anxious or distraught. Not after what just transpired.

Kier still wants me, just as much as I want him. I’ve wanted to believe that for months, but now I know it’s true. And while we may not be able to act on it now, I’m more confident than ever that when the time is right, we will.

Chapter thirteen

Kier

NOVEMBER

After that near confession from Aiden about how he feels, all pretenses went out the window. No more talking about work and only work, now we talk about anything and everything.

Except how we feel.

That’s the one subject we both know is off limits, so by mutual—unspoken—agreement we don’t acknowledge it.

We don’t have to. We both know the score. Until his graduation, nothing changes. After that…somehow we’ll be together. That hasn’t been said in so many words, but we both know it’s true. We just have to be patient.

It’s agonizing not only to pretend we aren’t completely smitten, but to act like we aren’t either. As a result, there are far too many longing looks, painful sighs, even the occasionalwhat iffrom Aiden, a thought that never gets finished since my warning glare stops him from saying anything else.

Thank God it’s usually just the two of us in the lab, because I’m fairly sure we’re shit at hiding how we feel. But we’re holding strong outside this room, rarely—if ever—coming into contact. That means we’re spending an ungodly amount of time in the lab, maximizing every last second we can spend together, but it’s the best we can do under the circumstances.

As I wait for Aiden to arrive, I absentmindedly review the numbers on my screen, thinking more about what we might talk about than what the data means.

Whipped, thy name is Kier.

I’m still gob smacked by all this. The depth of my feelings after a single night is one thing, but where they are now? Counting the minutes until I can see him. Constantly fighting the urge to touch him so we don’t cross any lines. Daydreaming about what we might become once the barriers between us are gone, whenever that may be.

That’s the hardest part of all this, the unknown. Aiden has applied to several schools where he might pursue his masters, and he’s also put feelers out to a few companies. Regardless of which path he chooses, he’ll receive a recommendation from me, and we both know that to avoid the perception of special treatment he’ll need time to get established before we can act on our feelings. We just don’t know how much time will be needed.

Compounding that is the fact I’ve got my own future decisions to make, and in many ways, those are contingent on where Aiden ends up.

The university would make room for me to stay here if I want, because my research can bring them notoriety, investors and new students. But how could I stay here if Aiden remains a student here, or anywhere else for that matter. Getting through this year will be hard enough. Add long distances to the equation and… Nope.

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