Page 15 of Brighter Shades of Light
“Good morning, private,” the guy beside me said, flashing a cheesy as hell grin.
“I’m not a private.”
Though I had the urge to roll my eyes at his mistake, I didn’t. I had to remind myself that not everyone knew the ins-and-outs of the program, our titles, and everything else that went with it. Commissioned officers—like what I was training to be—were separate from enlisted Marines. Enlisted men and women were the backbone of the Corps and worked their way up from the rank of private. Commissioned officers were college graduates who earned their rank and were then assigned to a platoon.
“Cadet?” he tried again.
“Midshipman,” I answered.
“Well, that’s a mouthful.”
Whatever I intended to say in response flew from my head because Dr. Vale entered the room.
The shorter section of his blond hair swooped near his eyes, touching the top of his glasses on one side. He wore a white button-up shirt, rolled to three-quarter sleeves, and a gray vest was pulled over it. His build was tall and a bit lanky, but his wide-set shoulders and faintly rounded biceps gave him a hint of muscle definition.
“Good morning,” Dr. Vale greeted, using a finger to push his glasses up his nose. “Class doesn’t start for another ten minutes, but feel free to sign the attendance sheet before it does.”
People stood and formed a line at his desk after he pulled the sheet from a folder. The guy who spoke to me minutes before was in front of me in the line, and after he signed his name, he approached the professor and began blabbing. I couldn’t hear everything that was said, but I got fragments of it.
“Your work on—” I didn’t catch his next few words “—and I’m honored to be in your class. If you ever need a teaching assistant, I’m your guy. You don’t even have to pay me. Just being in your presence is payment enough.”
Kiss-ass.
Wait.
Damn. I hope that’s not what I sounded like when I gushed to him.
As I signed the sheet, I checked above mine and saw the brownnoser’s name was Brandon. I stepped out of line so the person behind me could sign the paper and walked slowly to my desk, totally eavesdropping on their conversation.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Dr. Vale responded, his face void of emotion. “But that won’t be necessary. I tend to work alone. I hope you understand.”
“Oh! I understand completely!” Brandon nodded fast, like a damn bobble-head sitting on the dashboard of an old truck pushing eighty on the interstate. “Let me know if anything changes. The offer still stands.”
I slid back into my seat and pulled the textbook from my bag. The night before, I had read over the chapter we were discussing today so I could get a basic understanding of it before the lecture. Sections were highlighted in the textbook, and I’d marked the chapter with a mini post-it so I could easily flip to it.
Brandon plopped down in the desk beside me, his hands shaking and his cheeks red. “He’s kind of intimidating, isn’t he?”
I shrugged.
“But he’s brilliant.” Brandon sighed and turned toward me. “Can you imagine the job offers withhimon your résumé? Or even just a letter of recommendation from him? Other professors have teaching assistants, and those assistants can use the time as experience when job hunting. And in a competitive field, every small edge on the competition matters.”
“So you just want to use him?” I asked, not impressed at all.
I understood where he was coming from; the experience would be excellent. But well-known chemist or not, Dr. Vale was a person just like the rest of us, and I was certain he wouldn’t feel good knowing he was being used as a cash cow.
“Hey, middleshipman or whatever your title is, I don’t need your judgment.” Brandon faced forward and combed through his curly brown hair with his fingers. “Sometimes you have to step on people to get where you want to go.”
Wow. Wherever Brandon was headed, count me out. I’d run the other way.
I opened my notebook to the first page and read over what I’d written during Monday’s lecture. With everything organized on my desk and my memory refreshed on material discussed in the previous class, I looked up.
Dr. Vale was staring at me.
When our eyes met, it was like the temperature in the room skyrocketed. As did my heartrate. I had never experienced anything like it before. My stomach jolted, and my palms began to sweat. It lasted a second, maybe even a fraction of a second, but it felt like it lasted minutes. Hours.
He averted his gaze to the papers on the podium, his blond hair falling into his face, breaking the connection but not the spell he’d cast.
I kept staring at him for several moments. One heartbeat. Two.
