“Do I do something annoying at home?” He asked and bit his lip.

“No,” I laughed and swallowed down a groan. “We were working late in the lab. I was probably sleep deprived or I would’ve never said anything like it to a professor.”

“Now I have to know what you said,” Del finally cracked a smile.

“I said in another life I could see myself falling for you.”

A hot blush spread across his face, and I opened my mouth to apologize, but Del shook his head. I turned to ensure Doctor Hemlock-Knight wasn’t about to reenter his office. The corridor was empty.

“Don’t apologize,” Del said, his voice only a bit higher than normal.

“If I made you uncomfortable ---”

“Can I ask you something?” He cut me off.

“Yeah,” I nodded, fighting off the urge to put my hand on his knee.

“Why not this lifetime?” He whispered the words, and they sank right into my soul. “And please don’t give me some bullcrap about true-mates.”

“I don’t think Doctor Knight-Hemlock would think true-mates were bullcrap, but we’re not in a situation where we can risk our futures on a relationship, are we?”

“We’re almost to our futures, if you’re talking about graduation,” Del said. “Though, I’m flattered you think I could break your heart so badly that you’d not be able to finish the last few months of medical school. I don’t think anyone’s complimented me like that before.”

“I---”

“Would you break my heart?” Del asked, before I could speak.

“Not on purpose, but I don’t think most folks set out to break hearts.”

“Some do,” I shrugged. “I saw it all the time back at Moonscale Academy. Though, usually, that was Alphas using ‘love’ to get sex or head. If you wanted to just make a move, you could’ve done that last night. I probably would’ve said yes.”

I swallowed a groan and said, “But would you have regretted it this morning?”

“Not unless you made it awkward,” Del laughed. “Hey, I know what I want to do with my paycheck.”

“What’s that?” I asked, happy that he was changing the subject.

“Let me take you out on a date.”

“You don’t need to spend your money on me,” I shook my head.

“First, you didn’t say no to the date. Second, you said to spend it on anything but groceries. So unless I eat you, I don’t think you’re groceries.”

“Should I come back later?” Doctor Knight-Hemlock asked from the doorway of his office.

“Yes,” Del said.

“No,” I said.

“So, maybe?” Doctor Knight-Hemlock laughed.

“We can talk about this after work,” I said, pushing my chair back to stand up.

Del grabbed my hand, and I froze, not willing to yank him to his feet.

“So, yes, or no?” He asked.

“Huh?”