Page 65 of Wrong For Me

“Let’s think about this, though,” Fox calls, pulling himself up out of the pool and approaching our group, trailing water all over the patio because he’s too lazy to use a towel. From the smirk on his face, I know I’m not going to like what he says. “Finding some balding, pocket-protector-wearing science nerd to lock lips with might be just what she needs.” He slings an arm around my shoulder, smearing water across the fabric of my tank top. “Girl is uptight lately. She could use a date.”

I push his wet body away, smacking his chest as he smirks at the fresh round of worried exclamations from our uncles and dad.

And if their ridiculous overprotectiveness isn’t bad enough, now I’m thinking about the last guy I’d locked lips with. Leo.

I would never admit it to anyone, but one of the reasons I’ve been looking forward to this conference is the chance to have a break from him. The last few weeks have been…difficult. Not in the way the first few days of classes were difficult—he doesn’t snarl at me anymore. I never walk into the office to see him glaring at my mere presence. I can’t remember the last time I heard a snarky remark coming from his lips.

I should be thankful for all that, I suppose. But in some ways, his recent behavior is worse.

It’s probably all in my head, but I can’t shake the feeling that Leo is always… looking at me. Every time I look up, I get the weirdest sense that he’s only just averted his eyes. Whether I’m teaching one of Hernandez’s sections, working with a student during office hours, or just catching up on some reading in our too-small office, I can feel his gaze. It’s unsettling.

What’s more unsettling is the way my heart rate picks up, every single time. The way heat floods my face, reddening my cheeks. How my own eyes linger on him far longer than they should. The way my mind can’t seem to stop rolling through the memories of our night together, like some kind of pervy slideshow.

I know I shouldn’t be feeling that way about him. He might be more civil to me now, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is the same man who rocked my world in bed and then failed to call. The same man who treated me with so much disdain at the beginning of the semester. I need to get him out of my head.

And what better way to do that than travel a thousand miles away for a few days?

Somehow, I manage to get through the rest of the evening without killing one of my uncles. It helps that my aunts and a few of my older girl cousins come to the rescue and pull me away for a less insane conversation, leaving the dads to complain to each other about how unfair it is that kids have to grow up, getting more and more morose as the evening goes on and their beer glasses grow emptier.

When it’s time to go, the entire family surrounds us to say goodbye. After a solid five minutes of hugs and kisses and last-minute appeals to cancel my trip, River puts his foot down, shouting a loud goodbye as he grabs my elbow and pulls me away from the throng towards Will’s truck. “You’d think they were never going to see you again,” he grumbles.

“I think it’s nice,” Eva says softly from behind us, and Riv grimaces. Eva has very little family—it’s pretty much just her and her younger sister. We try not to complain too much about our crazy family in her presence. The Ransome clan can be loud, overbearing, noisy, and straight-up nuts a lot of the time, but we’re still really lucky to have them.

The next day, Will leaves work for a few hours to give me a ride to the airport. We’re both quiet as we make the long trek to LAX, but I notice him casting several glances in my direction. “What?” I finally ask.

“Just wondering if you’re nervous.”

I groan. “Not you, too.”

He chuckles. “I’m not saying youshouldbe nervous. I think it’s awesome that you’re going, Rose, and I know you’re going to be fine.” He pauses, like he’s choosing his words carefully. “But I wouldn’t blame you for being nervous, either. Our family might be crazy, but they do have a point—none of us have really gone off on our own.”

“It’ssixdays.”

“Right. But tell me this—have you ever been on an airplane by yourself?”

“I won’t be by myself. There will be, what, a hundred other passengers?”

He shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

I shift in my seat. The truth is, itdoesfeel strange to be going so far away by myself, even for a short time. I’ve always been an anxious flyer, and I don’t love the idea of being on a plane without a friendly face. Dr. Hernandez is on an earlier flight—not that I can imagine drawing much comfort from flying with her. Working under her has shown me that the demanding professor is not nearly as scary as she’d seemed my freshman year, but she’s certainly not warm and fluffy, either.

Of course, Dr. Cooper wassupposedto come, but she’s still on strict bedrest. It would be nice to see her friendly face right now, but I’m not about to cancel over it.

“Honestly? I’m a little nervous. But I’m also really excited.” I turn in my seat so I can look at him. “Do you have any idea how much I’m looking forward to going to a place where no one is going to recognize me?”

His brows furrow. “Have people been bothering you at school?”

Yes. But I don’t tell my cousin that. Because I know he’ll tell his dad, who will tell my dad, and the next thing I know I’ll have bodyguards trailing me all over campus.

“People recognize me sometimes. I see girls whispering. Stuff like that. Not a big deal, but I definitely won’t miss it for a few days.”

“And you don’t think that will happen at this conference?”

I snort. “You really have no idea what science nerds are like, do you? No one is going to give a shit that Daltrey Ransome’s kid is there. They’ll all be too busy freaking out because Dr. Gemma Woodson is giving the keynote address.”

“Who the hell is Gemma Woodson?”

I laugh. “Exactly. She’s a pretty big name in neuropsychology circles.”