AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 18
Gigi shutthedooron Maxand walkedoverto her bed,throwing herselfbackdown ontoit. She should have beenstudying,buthermind keptreplaying thekisssheandMax hadshared. Itwasgoing to be hard pretending ithad never even happened.
Her phonechirped thenand shepickeditup,expecting tosee Jen’sfacepop up ontothescreen. Itwasn’t.Itwasatextfroman unknownnumber. Herstomach flipped.Maybeitwasthe AMNH texting her totell hershe’dmadeit,even though sheknewitwastooearlyforthat—itwasalso highlyunlikelythatsuccessful candidateswould bealerted viatextmessage.
Opening up thetext,sheread then re-read the message.
Hi,Gigi.It’sAlex …fromclass.Wasjustwonderingwhetheryou’dliketogettogethertostudysometime?Hitme backon thisnumbertopicka time anda place:)
“Oh,no,”shesaid toherself. Sheremembered givingAlexher number for agroup projectbackin their secondyear. She’d been reluctantto,of course,butin ordertoworktogether,they’d needed a waytocontacteachother.She’d been naively hopingthathe’d deletedherdetailsassoonasthe assignment had beenover.
Clearly,she’d been wrong.
Shedeliberated abouttexting backforthe better halfof thirtyminutes,eventuallydeciding that itwould berudeifshedidn’trespond.
Hi,Alex.Sure.Whynot?Howabouttomorrow?Aroundmidday?
Gigi bither lip and putthe phonedownon thecomforter. She didn’thavetowaitlong forhis reply.
Soundsgreat.Meetyouatthelibraryandwecangofromthere.
Itsounded likeadatetoGigi,soshe’d havetomakesureAlexwason thesame pageasherwhen it cametotheirnon-existentrelationship status.Theywerejustfriends. Rolling over ontoherback, shepicked upa textbookand flipped it open,holdingitaboveher. Timedisappeared likeitalways did when shehad her nose buried in a bookandwhenshelooked ather phoneagain,itwasalmost four o’clock. Venturing outof herroom,shesawthattheapartmentwasstill empty.
Sheturned her head atthesoundof akeychatteringalong the lock,thefront dooropening a momentlater.Maxpushedthestroller inside. He was breathing heavilyand dripping with sweat.Gigi feltas if shewashaving adivinemomentseeing him ashewas. Hewasin hisjogging shirtand shorts, sweat beading offhisbrow. Their eyesmetandshecould feel thelustthathad builtbetween them beforecrackleintolife oncemore.
“Hi,”shemanagedtochoke out.
Heclosed thedoor behind him. “Hi. Howwasstudying?”
“Boring,”shereplied.“I thought you went to the park.”
“I did. For a run,” hecorrected.Unstrapping Erin,heapproachedGigi. “I havetobeatworkin an hour. Canyou feed andbatheErin then puthertobed?”
Holding outher hands,shesettledthelittlegirlon herhip. “SureI can.”
Hegave her abrief smile beforemaking hiswaydownthehallway. Shewatchedhim—she couldn’thelp herself—untilheclosedthedoorbehind him. Looking backatErin, shesaid,“Let’sget you some dinner.”
*
Thenextdayathalfpasteleven,Gigilefttheapartmentandstartedthetwenty minutewalktothe universitylibrary.Shewouldbeafewminutesearly,butshepreferredtobeearlyratherthanlate. Assheapproachedtheredstonebuilding,shesawAlexleaningupagainstone ofthepillars outthe front,hisfingersidlyplayingwiththeleaves ofoneofthetreesintheplanterboxesthere.His expression wasseriousuntil hesaw her—thatwaswhen his wholefacelitup.
“Gigi,hi,”hesaid,aface-splittinggrinonhisface.It madehimlookeven youngerthantwenty- two. Slungoverhis shoulderwashis overloadedbookbag.“So,I thought wecould getsomelunch beforeweactuallystartseriousstudy.”
“Yeah,that’d begreat. Lead theway.”
Shefellintostep withAlexasheprattled onaboutsomethingvaguelyrelated toanthropology. Gigiwascompletelyunfocused ontheconversation.Hermindwasstill veryfirmlyonthe conversationshe’dhadwithMaxthat morningwhen he’dsurfacedbrieflyforbreakfast.He’dcome outof his roomdressed in justa pair ofbaggysweats. Seeing himdressed likethat madea columnof heatshootthrough her bodybeforeitpooled between her legs. Did hereallyhavenoidea whatthe sight of himpartiallynakeddid toher?
“Gigi,I justwantto apologizeagain foryesterday.”
Hiswordshadstartledher,aswellasconfusedher.Shecouldn’tkeepupwithhisvacillating moods.Hewaseitherrude orrepentant.“It’sokay, Max,”shesaid,pouringherselfaglassofjuice beforeasking himif hewanted someby raising thecarton.
Heshookhishead.“No,it’sreallynot.WhenIwentoutformyrun,Ithoughtaboutit.ThewayIreactedwas…extreme.”
“Igetit.You regretkissingme,andIunderstand why.You’remyboss. Doingsomethingto jeopardizeourprofessional relationshipislikeputting aguntothesideofmyheadandpullingthe trigger.”He frownedatheranalogy.“WhatI mean is,itwasamistake—andonethatcan’thappen again.”Shetooka sipofherjuice,lookingathisfaceoverthelipoftheglass. “Let’sjustputitbehind usand pretend thatit neverhappened.”
Hegavehera slownod. “Yes,I thinkthat’sforthebest.”
Shesmiled. “Great. Areyou working again tonight?”Henodded,looking a littlemiffed. “What timedo youstart?”
