Page 97 of Chasing Infinity

I understand that things are tricky for Addison when it comes to me because of her friendship with Sullivan and Monty. They’ve been my sworn enemies for as long as I can remember. It will inevitably put her in a weird position if things heat up between us. Even though Parks and I have made up, I’m far from being buddies with the other two.

I let the moment in the lab marinate in my thoughts for the next few hours. She ran out before we really got the chance to talk about what she meant, and I’m dying to know her true motives for dropping a bomb like that and running away from me.

After school lets out for the day, I linger around, letting Jordan and Caleb know I’ll catch up to them at some point later at the gym. When they’re gone, I meander out to the front lobby, where I know Grace and Parks are trying to get sign-ups for their nerd competition in the next few weeks.

And sure enough, I see them sitting together when I turn the corner. Of course, Parks is working on homework, and Grace seems to be organizing and re-organizing their display table. It doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten much traffic as there’s still a whole stack of flyers and sign-up sheets lying in front of the pair. Grace looks up and nudges Addison when she sees me walking toward them. Addison glances up to see what Grace was referencing, but she quickly averts her eyes when she realizes it’s me.

“Oh, look, he’s coming over here,” I hear Grace say to Addison, humor lacing her tone as she shuffles and stacks the piles of papers in front of her.

My heart rate picks up as I get closer. I notice that Parks doesn’t grant me the privilege of looking up again. Even when I’m standing right in front of their table, she doesn’t pull her attention away from what she’s doing.

“Ladies,” my deep voice falls over the table.

“Oh,hi, Noah,” Grace says, pretending to be surprised that I’m standing at their table. “Are you interested in joining the decathlon team?”

“Uh,” I hesitate for a moment. “That will be a no. I was wondering if I could borrow Parks here for a moment.”

Finally, Parks looks up at me, and my stomach flips. She watches me guardedly with her hazel eyes, the flares standing out prominently under the fluorescent light of the lobby. Her hair is pulled into a side braid, but a few strands stray from their position, giving it a slightly messy look. I stick my hands in my pockets and clench my fists together, nerves starting to set in.

“I’m actually a little busy right now, so maybe—“ she says but is cut off by Grace.

“She’s not busy. No one in their right mind would join the decathlon team,” her friend says. “She’ll go with you.”

Addison shoots Grace an exasperated look, and I can see the betrayal on her face. But despite it all, she gives a resigned sigh and stands, brushing invisible dirt off of her jeans. She crosses her arms over her chest, the movement pushing her breasts up and together, a detail accentuated by the gray v-neck shirt she’s wearing today. My mouth goes dry, and I dart my eyes away from her chest to her face, meeting her blank stare. “What do you want?”

I tilt my head away from the table and toward the hallway. “Take a walk with me?”

“Is there another option?”

“Nope,” I deadpan. “This is all I’ve got right now.”

Parks rolls her eyes up to the ceiling but turns back to Grace, who is watching us with pure unadulterated amusement. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Grace waves her hand. “No rush, take your time. And I mean,takeyourtime.” Her voice is laced with innuendos, and Addison picks up on it, her cheeks turning a fiery red and worries at a hangnail on her thumb.

I catch her eyes and motion down the hallway. Parks begrudgingly follows me. When I’m finally satisfied that we’re far enough away from Grace’s attentive ears, I turn to Parks and ask the question that’s been bothering me all day.

“What was that?”

“What?”

“Earlier, in the lab. What you said.”

Parks quickly looks down at the ground, hiding her face from me as if she’s embarrassed. “Nothing, I don’t—I didn’t mean it.”

I don’t respond immediately, trying to think of the best way to proceed without spooking her. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells with this whole situation. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and ruin whatever chance is brewing underneath the surface.

Finally, I say, “Well, that’s a shame.”

Parks pulls her attention away from the tile floor and back to me. Her warm hazel gaze traces my face, searching carefully for context clues. “What?” she asks breathlessly.

I step closer to her, closing the distance between us until we’re facing each other. “That you didn’t mean it cause I absolutely mean what I’m about to say.”

“Noah,” she protests weakly, apparently not liking the husky tone my voice is taking on or my proximity. She raises a hand and presses it against my chest, stopping me from getting closer to her. I look down. Seeing her dainty hand on my chest is doing weird things to my heart, and I want to cover her hand with mine and never let it go. “Please don’t. I like things how they are right now.”

“But what if things could be better?” I challenge her.

“Please.”

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