Page 24 of The Wrong One

ChapterEleven

Izzy

Cam was staring at his screen, but I didn’t get the feeling he was actually seeing anything. I knew the look. He was spacing out. I approached him slowly. When he didn’t notice me, I knew he was lost in thought.

“Cam?” I said gently.

He blinked and looked up at me. “Yes.”

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said and rubbed his face. “Just stumped.”

He looked distracted. Burnt out. I knew the look. You could only look at a screen for so long. He was doing some pretty amazing work and it was bound to be taxing. I had spent a week reading up on everything he had done. It was incredible. It was clear he had spent a lot of time researching.

“You look a little fried,” I said with a laugh.

He looked up at me. “That’s an understatement. I’m burnt out. My brain just shut off. I can’t see straight. Do you want to get a late lunch with me? I need to get out of this lab. I’ve got to stretch my legs. I did a pretty hard workout this morning and it kicked my ass.”

Just the idea of him working out sent weird chills down my spine. Thinking about him hot and sweaty and grunting was giving me some serious vibes. “You should go for a walk,” I said.

“There’s a place on campus that serves some amazing teriyaki bowls,” he said. “My treat. I think we could both use a break.”

“Sure,” I shrugged. “That sounds like a nice break.”

We left the lab and made our way to the restaurant he mentioned. We ordered our bowls and found a place to sit down with young and old students. It was nice to be out of the lab and in the bright sunshine.

“It’s so nice,” I said.

“I bet you miss the California sun,” he commented.

I nodded. “I do, but I lived in the San Francisco area. When people think about California, they think about LA or San Diego. That’s where the sun is.”

“Do you miss it?” he asked.

“California?”

“Yes,” he replied. “You were there for a while.”

I smiled. The last thing I wanted to talk about was California. “I was.”

“What was your life like out there? You were working in a tech job?”

“I was,” I answered. “It was a great experience. I worked for a start-up that was developing some cutting-edge technology. I learned a lot during that time.”

“I bet you did,” he said, his eyes lingering on me. “You’re one smart cookie.”

I blushed. “Thanks.”

There was a moment of silence as we both dug into our bowls. The teriyaki sauce was delicious, and I savored each bite.

“Did you miss Boston?”

I laughed. “I’m not sure how I should answer that question.”

“Why?”

“If I say no, that sounds bad. If I say yes, I don’t want to sound like a baby.”

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