Page 18 of Under Pressure

What, did you think he actually wanted to touch you? That he likes you? You know you could never capture the attention of—

Okay, message received. I regain control of my hands, finally fitting the key in the lock, and let us in. Warmth immediately washes over me and I glance at the thermostat. Eighty freaking degrees. What, Kelsey can’t even bother turning it back down before she leaves?

“Why’s it so hot in here?” Tyler asks, his arm dropping from me as he unzips his coat, laying it carefully on the back of the couch.

“Don’t ask,” I mutter, stripping off my own coat and scarf as I adjust the temperature.

I head into the kitchen and put a pot of water on to boil for the jasmine rice, then check the chicken. The heady aroma of honey and garlic greets me as I lift the lid of the Crockpot, but before I can bend down to take a bigger whiff, Tyler beats me to it, edging me out of the way.

“Fuck, that smells good.”

“Do you have to curse at everything?”

“I’m showing my appreciation. It emphasizes how strongly I feel about something. Besides, I’ve heard you say it too.”

“When?” I demand, unable to recall a single instance I would have said that in the lab.

“When you couldn’t stop talking about my fuck buddies.” He smirks, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

Oh, that.

I replace the lid to the chicken, turning to the stove to pour in the rice. “You seem to provoke me into saying things I wouldn’t normally say.”

“It’s a specialty of mine.” He shrugs nonchalantly.

“You do it to everyone?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs again, watching the water boil in the pot.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“If it bothered me, I wouldn’t do it.”

I drop the subject since I’m obviously not getting anywhere.

What, did you think he’d apologize to you? Get real. Like he cares about you at all. Like anything you say matters one bit to him. Like you mean—

“Are you okay?” He interrupts my train of thought, startling me.

“What?” I glance over at him, his eyes narrowed at me.

“You went out of focus there for a second.”

“Oh, um, yeah.” I rub my palms on my jeans, willing my heart to slow down. Logically I know that just because the thoughts come to me doesn’t mean there’s any truth to them, but sometimes they still get to me. “I’m hungry is all.” I motion toward the couch in the living room. “How about we start studying while dinner’s finishing up?”

He takes one last look at me and shrugs for a third time. “Sure.”

We sit down at the dining room table, quizzing each other on the material we expect to be tested on. His class is a chapter ahead of mine, but I’ve read ahead anyway.

Listening to his answers reminds me of all those times in Dr. Hanover’s class—not just how intelligent he is, but also the longing I’d had for him once upon a time.

But that’s gone now. Obviously.

The timer for the rice dings, startling me, and Tyler raises his dark brows at my jumpiness.

I scurry in the kitchen, wanting to be away from that knowing gaze. Of course any former crush I had on him is done. He’s made it clear he’s not looking for anything.

I set a steaming plate of honey garlic chicken atop a bed of jasmine rice in front of him, smiling as he takes a bite and lets out a sound of pleasure.

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