Page 29 of Embrace

The guy at the other table shakes his head. “Until their power play collapsed. Couldn’t capitalize to save their lives. Cost me fifty on the parlay.”

“That’s what you get for betting on their second line.”

It’s honestly impressive, the way Kian manages to look completely stress free despite being neck-deep in academic suffering. I’m still wondering why no one’s shushed them, but Kian’s become a sort of celebrity in the library so they bend the rules for him.

“Hey, Scar,” Kian says when he sees me. There’s a pink flush to his cheeks like he just got off the ice, and his hair is slightly damp.

“Why is your hair wet?” I ask him.

“I came here straight from the gym.”

It still surprises me that he went to practice this morning and then the gym later in the day. My physical activity consists of walking back and forth from the library to my dorm.

“Are we heading to your secret location?” He pulls up a bag of takeout. “I brought food.”

I snatch the bag out of his hand, keeping my voice a low whisper. “You can’t eat in here!”

Kian waves to the librarian. “Hey, Al, I’m starving. It’s okay that I brought food, right?”

Alice perks up from behind the counter. “How else would you sustain such a big, big body?”

The emphasis on thebigmakes me roll my eyes. I’ve known Alice for four years, and she’s made me go outside just to eat a mandarin.

“See?” Kian says, and then without a word, he follows me to my favorite study spot.

I found this private study room during freshman year. There’s a door that’s always open after hours, so I can sneak in and use the whiteboard.

Kian holds the door open for me, and when we pass through and it shuts behind us, he whistles. “Wow. This is nice.”

Sunlight flickers in through the window that looks out over campus, where orange leaves swirl past the steps of an old brick building, its windows glowing faintly against the darkening October sky. I sink onto the carpeted floor and lean against the bookshelves with my textbook in my lap.

“Is this what turns you on?”

I’m jerked out of my relaxation by Kian standing an inch away from me. “What?”

“A nice private study space? You’ve got a postorgasmic look on your face.”

“You’d have to witness me post orgasm to make that comparison,” I quip, surprised at how easily I tease him back.

“And when does that happen? When your professor tells you there’s a pop quiz?” Kian chuckles to himself, pulling a book off a shelf and flipping through the pages.

“Very funny. I have normal turn-ons like everyone,” I say. “Like begging, or crawling, or…choking.”

Kian drops the book and shakes his hand with a pained expression on his face. Rushing over to him, I take hold of his finger, noticing how just one of his could be two of mine. It’s the tiniest paper cut I’ve ever seen. It’s not even bleeding.

I blow on it anyway. “You’re fine, you big baby.”

His eyes glint. “You’re not going to kiss it better?”

A few beats hang between us before I squeeze his finger.

He yelps and jerks away, narrowing his eyes. “That could’ve caused some real damage, Scar. Then we’d end up in the ER, and I hate hospitals.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re just trying to get out of studying. Pop quiz incoming, remember? Dr. Dunn lives for those.”

With an exaggerated sigh, he drops his bag on the floor and flops into a chair. We’re only a few minutes into studying when Kian pokes me with his pen.

“You daydream a lot,” Kian says.