Page 11 of Study Buddies

Lucas tilted his head toward the kitchen, and I followed him in there.

I didn’t know what to say until he offered me coffee, and then I burst into quiet but panicky speech. “I was just feeling guilty that I kicked him out of his room,” I said hastily. “You both have been so nice to me, and I?—”

Lucas placed a warm mug in my hands. “It’s okay, Tori. Waking up to find someone unexpectedly in their underwear? Yeah, I’d probably take a look, too.” A gleam of amusement brightened his green eyes. “Though Jayden’s not my type.”

“Oh god. You’re a morning person.”

He laughed.

“Something of a morning person, yes, but not really much of a breakfast person.” His voice was low, so as not to wake Jayden, and I liked it. Loud voices in the morning weren’t my thing. “We have cereal if you’d like that.”

“That sounds good.” I smiled at him. “Can I keep the prize in the box?”

For a moment, he looked puzzled.

“I mean… we were talking about kid stuff yesterday. Chicken tenders and racecar beds.” My cheeks heated. “Clearly I’m not a morning person because that didn’t make much sense.”

“It’s all good. Get your cereal and let’s go out on the front porch. It’s pretty out there.”

I followed him around the kitchen as he showed me the bowls, spoons, and cereal options. Even with my slightly bleary brain, I managed to figure out where the milk was on my own.

A gasp escaped my lips as I followed him onto the porch. “It’s beautiful,” I said softly once he’d closed the door behind us.

Turning my head, I tried to take in everything at once. The tall trees on either side of the house. The narrow road with a clearing on the far side of it—one that provided a sweeping view of the mountains. “Wow.”

“It’s pretty scenic,” Lucas said, sitting down on a white metal chair that looked as if it had once been part of a patio dining set. I sat on another. “And peaceful. But you know what? I study better in the library basement.”

I nodded. “Yeah, why breathe in fresh mountain air when you can inhale decades of book dust?”

He laughed. “I know it’s weird.”

I shook my head as I drew my knees up to my chest, my bare feet balanced on the front edge of the chair. “It’s not weird. Maybe it’s like your classes are your job, so you prefer to do it at your workplace—on campus. But then you get to come home tothis.” I gestured to the incredible view with the hand holding my cereal bowl, and milk sloshed over the edge. “Oops.”

“That makes sense,” he said, looking out at the mountains in the distance. “Though you could’ve made your point without splashing milk around.”

I grinned, eating some of the soggy cereal. This was a different side of Lucas up here. In our study group, he was so serious. And I’d seen yet another side of him last night, when we’d gone to Todd’s house. He’d been angry then, but also kind of protective. It was weird to see new facets of a guy I’d known for a year, but it was also nice.

And then I thought of one more new thing I’d learned about him, and I set the cereal down and wrapped my arms around my knees. “Can I ask you something?”

He tore his gaze away from the view and turned back to me. In the morning light, the green of his eyes was even more vivid. “Sure.”

“Why did you follow me last night when I left the laundromat?”

His picked up his mug, staring into it as if it provided answers. When it didn’t, he took a long sip. Finally, he spoke. “I was worried about you.”

“Okay, but why?”

This time, Lucas stared out at the landscape. “I’m… I’m not an intuitive person. Logic is the only thing that matters to me. But I just got the feeling that something was wrong, and since I don’t usually get feelings like that—I listened to it.”

“I’m glad you did.”

His words touched me, especially since he didn’t seem to quite understand it himself. It astonished me that Lucas, who was, as he said, Mr. Logic himself, had seen I needed help.

“You could have told me. Told us.” He turned his head toward the living room window in the direction where Jayden was presumably still sleeping.

“I know. I realize that now, but before… it’s not like we ever talked all that much about our personal lives. But… I’m sorry I didn’t.”

His kind eyes settled on me again. “I didn’t mean it as a reprimand, as if you should have. But I just wanted you to know that youcouldhave.”

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