Page 6 of Convergence

“No, it’s alright,” he said, turning back to the coffee pot. “I thought I was going to be the early riser in the house.”

I smiled and sat at the island while he made a pot of coffee.

“Would you like some breakfast? I was going to make some eggs and bacon,” he offered, and opened the fridge.

“Sure, thank you,” I said after a moment.

“Of course,” he mumbled, and we settled into a comfortable silence while he cooked. When the coffee finished, I poured two cups and got the cream from the fridge. I poured cream in my coffee, but Everett picked his up black and took a sip of the piping hot coffee.

I watched him stand at the stove cooking- barefoot and casual. His muscled back was more visible through this t-shirt than it was through his dress shirt yesterday. I admired him, almost hypnotized by his muscles as he moved.

“Do you run every day?” he asked, making me realize I’d been staring.

A sip of hot coffee warmed my throat before replying. “I try to. I have screws in my right knee from the accident. Years ago, I began jogging as part of my physical therapy and it stuck.”

He turned and looked at my knee. “Do you mind?” he asked and gestured to my leg.

I turned sideways on the seat so he could see better.

He kneeled down on the kitchen floor on one knee and traced a light finger over the scars. They really weren’t all that noticeable unless you were close to me, or you were looking directly at my legs. I wasn’t self-conscious of them, and they didn’t bother me. Goosebumps rose on the rest of my leg at his attention. I breathed evenly, hoping he wouldn’t see the bumps. He smelled of a fresh shower and clean soap.

“My dad has screws in his elbow from an accident with a horse probably thirty or so years ago and his scarring is much worse than yours. You had some skilled doctors. Does it bother you in different weather?”

I nodded and said, “When it's damp or cold, yeah. If I don’t run, I’ll use heating pads. It’s not too bad, though.”

“My dad’s always hollerin’ about it. Doesn’t let it stop him from working though,” he said and returned to his cooking.

Bounding footsteps on the stairs preceded Nate’s appearance in the kitchen. He came in happily and hummed a tune. “Good morning, that bacon smells amazing!”

“Yeah, well, this bacon is for early risers,” Everett said.

“Dude, it’s literally seven in the morning. This is early,” Nate argued and sat next to me at the island.

Everett got out a third plate from the cabinet and poured a mug of coffee despite his response of “Eva’s already been out for a run, and I’ve cooked an entire breakfast. What have you done?”

“I took a shit, that’s what,” Nate shot back.

I snorted into my coffee.

“And I ordered a portable sound system for Marie Curie,” Nate continued as he plopped two spoonfuls of sugar and a healthy pour of cream into his coffee. “So maybe suck a dick, bro.”

Everett stared at Nate with that smirk and the smiling eyes he had perfected. He shook his head and handed us our plates of eggs and bacon. I thanked him and he winked at me.

Daisy met us at our house soon after breakfast and we all piled onto the golf cart. Marie Curie had a two-person bench facing forward and a bench on the back, which fit two more. Daisy perched proudly next to Everett, who was first in the driver’s seat. Nate and I sat on the bench that faced backwards as we drove the five minutes to the lab.

The lab we’d be working in was a small, unmarked building right on the edge of campus. It was near the back of the large science building on campus and was likely easily overlooked as storage. They marked one little parking spot for our golf cart that a wide sidewalk led to from the road. We parked, and I hopped down from the bench and was the first to use my access card to open the metal and glass door. The building was unassuming, but the technology used to secure it was new. The lock on the door beeped and I opened it.

We all filed into the vestibule, and Daisy explained the layout. “It’s pretty small, but it has everything you need. There’s a locker room though there,” she pointed to a door on the right. “The center room is your super important lab, and the one on the left is like a lounge area with some computers.”

Everett opened the lab door with his access card, and we hurried inside. The lab and equipment were ultramodern and so clean and new. I ran my fingers over the cool metal table and looked around in awe. My eyes met Nate’s and we exchanged excited stares.

“This is all for our use?” Everett asked.

“Yup, just you nerdies,” Daisy said and looked around like she was bored.

“Nobody else has access?” Everett asked, that crease in his brow again.

“You three, me, and Professor Hoffmann, as far as I know,” she replied with a shrug. “But I’m only allowed in today to show you around.”

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