Chapter 32: An Excuse to Stay

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: An Excuse to Stay

I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through whatever happened to show up on my feed. I wasn’t really paying attention to any of it. Chloe and Nicole were talking about something across the table, but I couldn’t make out most of the conversation, and I wasn’t particularly interested in interrupting them.

Nicole ate slowly, taking her time between small bites. She didn’t eat much, which wasn’t surprising considering she was sick, but at least she was getting something into her stomach.

I kept scrolling through my phone, occasionally glancing up to check on her.

After a while, I felt someone sit down beside me.

I looked over and found Nicole next to me.

She was smiling, and her eyes were noticeably brighter than they had been a few minutes ago. There was something almost excited about the way she was looking at me.

I already knew that look.

She was about to say something. Something suspicious. Something that would probably end with me agreeing to whatever she wanted before I even realized I’d been hooked.

I lowered my phone and looked at her.

"What?"

Nicole’s smile widened slightly. "You’ve helped professors review their material before, right?"

I narrowed my eyes a little. "...Yeah?"

She nodded, looking pleased that I had confirmed it. "I have something I need help with."

"Of course you do."

She laughed softly. "It’s not a big deal. It’s just some material I need to review."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of material?"

"Some second-year engineering material. A professor asked me to help review a set of problems and their solutions before they use them for the next class."

That actually sounded reasonable. I’d helped a few professors with things like that before, mostly because I was always the top of the class and they trusted me to catch mistakes or point out anything that might confuse students. It wasn’t exactly unusual for me.

Nicole tilted her head slightly. "So?"

"You’re just looking for an excuse to keep me here longer than I should be."

"Yes."

She answered so quickly that I almost laughed.

I smirked. "You know you’re sick, right?"

"That’s why you’ll be reviewing them for me."

I nodded. That made sense.

Nicole smiled, then added. "And if we can’t finish today, we can continue tomorrow."

There it is. The trap.

I stared at her for a moment.

"How do you always do that?"

Nicole smiled smugly. "I’m even going easy on you."

I blinked. "Wow. You’re dangerous."

"Thank you."

I shook my head and smiled. "Take your medicine. You’ve eaten something already."

Nicole’s expression immediately changed into a small pout. "But it’ll make me sleepy."

"That’s what it’s supposed to do."

"I don’t want to sleep yet."

I stared at her for a moment.

Of course she didn’t. She’d already found a reason to keep me here. There was no way she was going to waste the opportunity by going to sleep.

I glanced at the time on my phone. It was still only 4:17 PM, which made sense considering Friday classes ended early thanks to Mr. Thompson being in a good mood for once.

"I’ll wait for you to wake up."

Nicole looked at me, her pout disappearing almost immediately. "Promise?"

I nodded. "Promise."

Her face brightened. "Okay."

She stood up with a little more energy than I’d expected from someone who had been complaining about being sick all day, and headed toward the stairs, presumably to get her medicine, and I watched her go with a small smile.

My eyes drifted down from the stairs to the—

Chloe.

Apparently, she’d been watching the whole thing, judging by how her smile widened the moment our eyes met.

I immediately looked away.

I wasn’t dealing with that.

A few moments later, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Nicole appeared with her medicine in hand and walked straight toward the kitchen.

She opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and glanced at Chloe on her way back. She winked at Chloe — I pretended I didn’t see it — before walking over and sitting beside me, medicine still in hand.

She took it with the water, then looked at me and opened her mouth slightly; just enough to show me she had actually swallowed it.

"There. Happy?"

I smiled. "Very."

I glanced around the room. "So, where are the materials you want me to review?"

"In my study. It’s upstairs."

Chloe looked up from her phone. "You even have a study? I’m honestly beyond mind blown at this point."

I looked at Chloe. "You know you don’t really have to be here, right?"

She stuck her tongue out at me.

I sighed and looked back at Nicole. "Take me there."

Nicole nodded and stood up, waiting for me to follow her.

As we started up the stairs, Chloe called after us.

"Don’t do anything I wouldn’t."

I ignored her. Nicole just smiled.

—

We reached her study a moment later, and, yes, it was exactly what I’d expected.

Awards, framed photos of Nicole, shelves filled with books, a couch along one wall, and even more books stacked wherever there was room for them. The whole place looked like someone had taken every academic achievement she had ever collected and decided to put it on display.

Nicole walked over to her desk without saying anything and started shuffling through a few files. After a moment, she pulled one out and turned back toward me.

"Here."

I reached for the file, only to realize how close she was standing. We were practically inches apart, and she was staring straight at me with a look that was starting to put some very questionable ideas in my head. I could even feel my heartbeat pick up slightly.

I knew exactly what she wanted and where my own thoughts were heading, but we weren’t at a point where either of us could just act on them.

I raised a finger and gently pushed her forehead back.

Nicole immediately pouted and brought a hand up to her forehead.

I walked around her and sat in the chair behind the desk, then opened the file and started pulling out the materials she’d mentioned.

She stood there for a moment, watching me go through the materials, then her expression softened into a small smile.

"Stuff like this only makes me fall for you more, you know."

I kept my eyes on the papers in front of me. "Go sleep."

She stared at me for a few seconds, probably waiting for something more than that.

I gave her nothing.

Eventually, she turned around and walked out of the study.

I kept reading through the problems, checking the solutions and making notes whenever I found something that needed to be adjusted.

A few minutes later, the door opened again.

I looked up.

Nicole walked back into the room carrying a pillow and a blanket.

I blinked.

"What are you doing?"

She didn’t answer.

She walked past me and headed toward the couch at the other side of the study. She placed the pillow down, spread the blanket over it, then lay down and pulled it over herself.

She looked at me with a satisfied smile. "Perfect."

I just stared at her, because... I just stared.

I finally shook my head slightly. "Close your eyes."

Her smile widened, then she closed them.

I watched her for a moment, and only then noticed the small smile on my own face.

I let out a quiet exhale, then looked back down at the materials and continued reviewing them.