Page 13 of More Than Chemical
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. It was like I was adhered to the seat. “Who told you that?”
“Sandra.”
My pulse drummed in my ears. A wave seemed to crash over me and suck the breath right out of me. “Isn’t Sandra that girl who works at the front desk?”
“Right.”
“I saw her that night at the party gawking at us.”
“He’s an asshole.” Emma pushed her chair back. “My advice is not to spend one more second thinking about him.”
She grabbed her tray and walked away.
I sat there, dumbfounded. I wasn’t sure if I should thank gossipy Sandra or hate her. Regardless, I needed to put Texas out of my mind and move on.
Five
Boy to the Rescue
In January, the best place to do homework was next to the clothes dryers whirring away in the dorm basement. They provided an endless amount of white noise and constant heat.
Despite the perfect conditions, I was still struggling with my chemistry lab write-up. It was due by the end of the week, and I wasn’t close to finishing it.
A Minnesota University hockey sticker stuck to the desktop I was at kept bothering me. I picked at it with my fingernail, but it wouldn’t scrape off. A bottle of Goo Gone would really come in handy for this job.
I stopped, staring back at my lab results, and the numbers swam together. I opened my textbook. I needed to stay focused, needed to figure out how to do the analysis.
A thud echoed from the washers, and two voices sounded over the machines.
The door to the laundry room shut, and I peered around the corner to make sure I was alone again. But I wasn’t. A head of brown hair bobbed over the appliances. I went back to my work.
I stared at the numbers again. Okay. I had this. All I needed to do was dive in and finish it up.C’mon. Concentrate.
“Hey,” said a male voice.
I jumped in my seat and turned.
It was Texas, without his baseball cap.
“How are you?” he asked.
But my throat had swelled shut. Like when my dander allergy flared up in a house filled with cats.
I swallowed hard and tried to breathe. “F-F-Fine.”
He set his arm on a machine. “You want to get some coffee?”
My skin tingled. “Right now?”
He nodded.
My heart raced.I think Texas is asking me out. On a date.
I stared down at my lab book and then up again, straight into those chocolate-candy-colored eyes of his.
In a businesslike voice, I said, “I can’t. I’m busy right now. Maybe some other time.”
Some other time?Omigod. I didn’t even know what I was saying.
