Page 99 of Deep In Love
We stare at each other until he launches back onto the bed and pulls me beneath the covers.
“Thank you, bruja. Another compliment I’ll hold tightly to my chest.”
I level him with an unamused look.
Do not say it.
“Right beside how I smell like a summer breeze.”
He laughs as I whack his bicep. Annoying asshole.
“Shut it, cariño.”
We settle beneath the covers, the boat swaying gently.
“Your final rule is broken,” he whispers against my temple, pulling me close.
“I-I don’t think I need rules anymore.”
The rules were made to keep myself detached from emotion—to keep myself “safe.” I don’t need the safety net anymore because I have it right now in Mateo’s arms.
But I don’t know what to do now that I don’t have any rules at all.
Chapter 28
Mateo
“My thesis work focuses on identifying genetic differences between populations of Arctic invertebrates to understand how shifts in environmental conditions may drive adaptation and evolution.”
The lounge area is quiet as Charlie and Jett film on the couches in the corner, his video equipment illuminating them in blinding light. Doug adjusts the brightness, then moves the microphone to hover between them both.
Charlie pulls out every buzzword to explain her thesis, but instead of forcing her to reshoot the video two dozen times, Jett cheers her on as she explains the differences she uncovered between octopi at different sites in the Arctic.
I’ve read the paper she helped another PhD student with in her first year of our program. Her insight is brilliant, and though she’s the fifth author, she poured her heart and soul into the work.
A kernel of warmth spreads out from my diaphragm as her hands wave wildly while she speaks, features alight with excitement as she explains the laboratory process and the results of the paper.
Jett nods along, hanging off her every word. Not once have I heard him yell “cut,” and if I weren’t floating on cloud nine, I might take offense.
Instead, I’m watching on with a coffee in my hand, the one Charlie surprised me with this morning. I can only describe her radiance as breathtaking as she brutally woke me up and shoved the coffee in my face.
She proceeded to spend ten minutes talking about how she woke up earlier than me—she really emphasized the point—to make me the drink. After she offered the play-by-play of her coffee-making expedition, she perched next to me and watched as I took the first sip. I smiled through the bitter, assaulting taste of burnt espresso and sipped the scalding liquid like it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
It’s the same mug, but her botched attempt has been replaced with black coffee.
Charlie has been all giggles this morning, chatting with Vivian about the whale fall and talking in hushed whispers with Sofía while glancing my way. When I winked, they all fell into a fit of giggles, and Charlie’s blush reached the tips of her ears.
“Come over here,” Charlie beckons, waving her hand. She’s holding Jett’s phone with the other, giggling to herself. As I get closer, the sound comes into range, and I recognize my voice.
She’s watching my interview. What I’m unsure about is what in the video is funny enough for her nose to turn a cherry hue.
“What’s so funny, bruja?” I ask, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
Her lip quivers when she turns her head, trying to contain her laughter, but she loses it and chokes, waving around the phone.
“Sexy…Daddy…Bacteria.”
Huh?
