Page 24 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
He had assumed earlier he was ready. That he was fine with the notion of his own death. But was he, really?
Something had triggered a shock in his body. His best guess was the sudden overwhelming stress from meeting that guy. Vir hadn’t been careful and had ended up absorbing all of his heavy, nervous energy.
Nori twitched, mumbling something incoherent in her sleep, and he smoothed his hand against her back again. And as he did, she melted right into him. Her fist unclenched to lie flat over his heart, oblivious to thethump thump thump thumpright under her palm.
She’s Nori,he reminded himself.Not the woman from your dreams. They’re not the same.
Six
Koala on a Eucalyptus Tree
November 2018:
Shoja, Himachal Pradesh
Nori
Nori stirred awake with her cheekpressed into the snug warmth of her pillow. The new mattress was a little too firm for her taste, but she didn’t feel like getting up just yet.
With a throaty hum, she buried her face into the sheets, inhaling a deep delicious fill of the earthy notes and the woody musk and coffee and soap. She hadn’t known they made laundry detergents that smelled this good. Or that pillows now came installed with heartbeats.
That didn’t sound right. Why would pillows have… Seconds ticked by before realization hit. Her pillow had a heartbeat… WHY DID HER PILLOW HAVE A HEARTBEAT?!
Please, don’t be awakeyet. Please, don’t be awake yet.
She’d been smushing her nose into Dr. Vir Varma’s chest. HIS CHEST. And because that wasn’t enough, she also had her limbs wrapped around him like a clingy koala on a eucalyptus tree.
Please, don’t be awake yet.As slowly as she could, she lifted her cheek off his sternum—please, don’t be—only to find his very awake, very rounded eyes staring back at her.
With a startled whelp, she pushed herself off the floor and ran inside.
She couldn’t recall falling asleep there with him. But even if she had, did she have to crawl under his blanket, too? She cursed under her breath, slamming the bathroom door shut and considering calling it her new home for the next few months. She could sneak in her laptop and some chips, maybe. It wouldn’t be that bad. She could totally do it. What she couldn’t possibly do, however, was step outside and look Vir Varma in the eye. Ever.
It was a while before she confronted the only flaw in her otherwise perfect plan and left the haven of her white-tiled hideout. The cottage had only one bathroom. She’d have to vacate it at some point so her guest could use it, too. Unless she wanted him to shit outside in the garden. She was mortified, not cruel.
She proceeded to avoid Vir’s gaze like the bane of her existence it now officially was. But to his credit, he didn’t prod the subject of last night’s sleeping arrangements. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. Except for when he insisted on looking at her stitches, only to give a satisfied nod before returning to his preferred seat on the couch with his e-reader. It had left her baffled how her shin hadn’t split open once more with her hauling a whole-ass man all the way from her car to the living room floor.
Relieved, Nori took the dining table as her preferred spot and got to work on her laptop, scrolling through and tweaking lines of code. She resurfaced hours later, her stomach gurgling in protest. Was it lunchtime already? Would Vir mind if she fed him a cheese sandwich again? It was either that or ramen noodles. Otherwise, cooking food fit for human consumption wasn’t one of her strengths.
Her eyes moved tentatively in Vir’s direction, as she braced herself to ask. But one glance at his frail—but alive—form on the couch had her brain throwing vivid imagery of last night’s events at her. She sprung to her feet,mentally cursing the lump in her throat as it threatened to climb up and spill out of her eyes again.
Vir’s head whipped in her direction, almost as if she’d called him by name.
“I’m going for a walk.” She cleared her throat, rushing to the front door with her jacket. “Call me if you need anything.”
She slipped out without waiting for a response, shutting the door behind her before Vir could witness her dissolving into an embarrassing mess. She needed a clear head to function like a person who had herself and her work together, and rage-walking was the best way to achieve that in her books.
But she didn’t understand. She was aware of all the risks. She was aware of the very real possibility that her first human subject might not make it out alive. She’d known right from the start. And so had Vir.
Then why? Why hadn’t she been able to stop bawling her eyes out last night? And why were they wet again just remembering the incident?
She marched faster, shoving her tightly wound fists into her too large pockets. The jacket fit her like a tent. She looked down and realized why. She’d grabbed Vir’s by mistake.
And it smelled good. Same notes as earlier. She frowned.
Vir probably smelled terrible. Like stinky feet or gross old sweat. She didn’t want to know. This, however, this earthy, soapy—she snuggled her nose into the collar and took a long whiff—this was definitely just the fragrance of her shampoo that he’d likely borrowed.
With a satisfied nod, Nori shoved her hands back into the roomy pockets and resumed her walk.
