Page 23 of Fostering Chemistry
Then I took off, leaving my drink in the kitchen. I wasn’t thirsty anymore. At least not for a drink.
8
MIA
This time,when I approached Cody after class, he looked slightly less surprised and less likely to bolt for the door. But just a little.
He’d sat in the back row again. If he’d been doing that since the beginning of the semester, it was no wonder I hadn’t noticed him before. I hadn’t known he’d be my roommate someday, but that gorgeous face of his… any woman would’ve noticed that.
“Hey.”
Cody pulled off his thick headphones, leaving them hanging around his neck. Though he was only four or five inches taller than me, I was in the row in front of him, which was one step lower, so I had to look up. “Hi.”
“Great lesson today, right?”
The corner of his mouth twitched—did the man actually know how to smile? We both knew that he hadn’t listened to a word Professor Beringer had said. I’d peeked over quite a few times, only to see him tapping softly on the desk or scribbling on apad of paper. Aaron said that Cody lived for music, and that appeared to be true.
“What were you listening to?” I nodded in the direction of his headphones, which he’d put on the second the class let out.
“You wouldn’t know it.”
I blinked at the obvious dismissal. “Okay, well, I just wanted to say hi. See you.”
Heading for the exit, I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter. I didn’t have to become friends with all my roommates. Having someone I felt as comfortable with as Aaron was a gift, and Jenna seemed like friend material too, even though she wasn’t around much.
“Mia.” Cody caught up to me at the steps on the side that led down to the exit. “I just meant, the music I’m listening to is from one of my classes. It’s never been released, so no one’s heard it.”
It was the most words I’d heard him say at one time. He had some tone to his voice that I couldn’t identify, but I liked listening to him. “That makes sense.”
“I didn’t want you to think…” He trailed off, looking uncertain where he was going with that. “Shit, I need to remember to grab coffee before this class. I almost fell asleep twice.”
We walked out into the hallway together. I did a quick check to make sure the teacher wasn’t standing behind me. “Trust me, if you’d actually been listening, it would’ve been more times than that.” I lowered my voice, and Cody tilted his head, leaning in. “I have no idea how he manages to be both confusing and boring at the same time.”
“It’s a lethal combo.”
A tall guy in a Henley shirt darted into an open classroom, and I stopped dead to avoid running into him. Cody’s hand came up, grasping my arm just for a second, to make sure I was steady. Then it was gone so quickly I might have imagined it… except I could still feel the heat from his fingers.
“If you still want some caffeine, I’m going to a coffee shop right now.” I hesitated, but he was my roommate. It wasn’t like I was asking him on a date. “Want to come?”
His light blue eyes sharpened a moment before he looked away, continuing down the hall.
I caught up to him. “I take it that’s a no?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. Finally, he said, “You don’t have to do that.” His voice was so low that I could barely hear him.
“Do what?”
We reached the side exit and Cody pushed open the door, holding it an extra second for me before jogging down the steps.
Once again, I had to catch up. “Cody? Do what?”
He turned onto the sidewalk, pausing next to a lamppost, and I almost walked right past him. Out here in the sun, his hair looked lighter. More bronze than brown. “You don’t have to pretend you were going to a coffee shop just because I said I needed some.”
For a moment, I just stared at him. Did he think I was making things up as an excuse to spend time with him? He was a good-looking guy, and I could imagine women doing that, but I’d just been trying to be friendly. There was something compellingabout him. Maybe it was the slightly unusual way he spoke. Or the sadness in his eyes. “I didn’t?—”
“I’m fine on my own.”
Wait, was that really what he thought? That I’d said I was going to a coffee shop out of pity?
