Page 77 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
Vir very dramatically rolled his eyes, and the exaggerated expression made them laugh.
“I thought you were making coffee,” Nori said as she inhaled the soothing cardamom notes rising from her cup.
“But you wanted chai,” he stated simply, before taking a sip of his coffee.
“You can’t keep lying about not being a mind reader, you know.”
Hours later, Nori lay sprawled onher bed, racking her brain for an excuse to sneak into Vir’s room next door. She’d gotten so used to falling asleep listening to his deep rhythmic breathing next to her, it was hard to doze off alone in her huge bed now.
“Ugh.”
She kicked the covers off and rolled on her side to curl up next to a pillow. And as she did, her eyes jumped to the towering silhouette of a man waving at her from the balcony.
“Gah—!” She slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the startled shriek from escaping. “What are you doing?” She hurried, unlocking the glass door to let Vir inside.
“Sorry!” He grinned. “The balconies are connected. And I was missing you.”
“I…” She poked the fallen pillow with her toe, her cheeks getting warmer. “…was missing you, too.”
Vir’s arms wrapped around her, letting her bury her face in his chest. She inhaled a deep satisfying fill of her favorite scent and it instantly made her eyelids grow heavy. He was her drug of choice. And her doom.
His mere proximity induced theta waves in the chaos of her brain. She could sleep now.
“Before I forget.” He kissed her hair. “I was curious about something.”
She looked up at him with a yawn. “What is it?”
Releasing her, Vir padded away to where her jacket lay draped over the back of a chair. He slipped a hand in its pocket and brought something out.
It took her a second, but as realization hit, she snatched the pebble from his hand before he could ask what the darn thing was doing in her pocket.
“Why—why are you going through my stuff?” She plopped on the bed, heat flooding her face. Maybe she could tell him she was an avid rock collector or something.
Yeah, there was no way he’d believe that.
“Sorry. I wasn’t going through your stuff.” He took a seat beside her. “It fell out when I was getting your jacket from the closet this morning. And I got curious. That’s all.”
Nori bit her lip. “No, I’m sorry. I overreacted.” She let out a huff. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to laugh.”
“Pinkie promise,” Vir said, curling his hand into a fist and letting the pinkie finger comically jut out.
“I’m serious.”
“I won’t laugh. Promise.”
Nori braced herself for the sheer mortification.Fuck it. It’s a rock. Just a dumb rock.
“Grandma used to tell me stories every day when I was little,” she began. “There was this one story about penguins that I’d loved.”
She looked at Vir from the corner of her eye. He didn’t seem to have guessed it yet. But maybe he didn’t know anything about penguins.
“You see, uh, they’re monogamous creatures,” she continued, hoping he wouldn’t notice the steam whooshing out of her ears like a vintage vapor-powered engine. “When a penguin falls in love, he goes around searching for the prettiest pebble he can find to build a nest with its mate. And then gives it to her as a declaration of his love. If she accepts it, they become lovers for life.”
She sneaked another glance and found Vir looking even more clueless than before.
She swore he was being dense on purpose now. Did she have to chuck the rock at his forehead to make him get it?
“This is for you,” she blurted, thrusting her fist under his nose.
