Page 43 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“How are things in Delhi?” he asked.
“None of them know your location.” Fehim shrugged. “And there isn’t much they can do unless they know, so… It’s all good. They’re keeping it hushed. The news hasn’t even gotten outside of the department. How are things on your side?”
“The mites reached a redundancy of two-point-two percent already,” Nori replied. “There were a few hiccups, but things are looking good so far.” Her mouth stretched into a yawn at the end.
“You look tired,” Fehim observed. “Why don’t we head back in, and you get some rest?”
“M’fine.” Nori yawned again, shivering slightly as the chilled evening breeze blew past them.
Vir took off his jacket and draped it on top of hers.
“Let’s go,” Ryan cut in just as she opened her mouth to protest, a fresh wave of annoyance coloring his tone. “It’s getting dark, anyway.”
Eleven
Nothing to do with Thermodynamics
January 2019:
Shoja, Himachal Pradesh
Nori
Ryan pulled Nori to the sideas they stepped into the house.
“Can we talk?” he asked. “In private.”
“Sure.” She led him to the study and pressed the door closed behind them. “In here.”
“How are you, Nor?” Ryan asked, and before she could answer, he crushed her with another bear hug.
“I’m fine,” she replied once he let her go. “I am. You didn’t have to come.”
“I know. I just missed my best friend.”
“You sound really sincere. And not at all like someone looking for an excuse to eat a full cake by himself.”
“How did you—you’re good!”
“Yeah, you smell like butterscotch and vanilla frosting. Did youfinish the whole thing on your way here?”
“Butterscotch and vanilla cream-cheese, actually. Fehim got it for you when he found out it was your birthday, but I told him you don’t do cake, so…”
“So, you ate it.”
“Fehim and his uncle had some, too.” Ryan shrugged. “It wassogood.”
Just as Nori rolled her eyes in response, Fehim and Vir’s muted chatter echoed in through the door, followed by Vir’s muffled laughter only seconds later. It made Nori break into a laugh, too.
When she turned to look at Ryan again, his playful expression was gone.
“Nor, you and him—”
“There’s no me and him,” she cut him off. “He was just—I was—it’s not what it looked like. Don’t start jumping to conclusions, okay?”
“You’re joking, right? Not what it looked like? What’s it like then? Are you thinking of dating him? Are you two dating already?”
“No.”
