Page 42 of Rise Above

“Oh.” Aife blinked and bit her lip. “Well… it’s

really not that bad.” It almost sounded like she meant that.

I laughed a little. “Hush. Your turn. Tell me about

your family.”

“It’s not as big as yours. Just one older sibling and

my parents.” Aife looked down at her feet. It was like the question had deflated her energy. “I come from a family of scientists. My dad is a geologist, loves rocks. There’s a huge rock collection in my childhood home. He could talk for hours about minerals. Mom is a geneticist. She’s 97

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currently looking at autoimmune disorders. The two of them getting into arguments is absolutely wild.” She had a small smile on her face now. “My older brother, Kayden, is a hydrologist—basically a water guy. I’m the weird one.”

“I don’t think you’re weird,” I said quietly. I placed

a hand on her thigh, squeezing gently.

“Thanks.” She looked up at me again. Her eyes

shone before she blinked the vulnerability away and squeezed my hand on her thigh. “Aife is a name my mom saw in a book, so she and my dad decided on Aife Marie Gomez.”

“That’s a beautiful name. Gomez though?” A pink blush made its way onto her cheeks. “You’re

sweet, TJ. My dad is a first generation. His mom and Dad are from Honduras, and I know I don’t look it. I got my mom’s genes.”

“You’d be the first to make the claim that I’m

sweet, but thanks.” Looking at my watch, I saw it was nearing lunch time. “You getting hungry?”

“Starving, actually.”

“Come on,” I said, standing up and holding a hand

out to her. “Let’s go eat.”

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After grabbing some burritos, we headed back to

her place. Aife promised it would be two hours max as she really needed to write more of her paper. I was completely fine with this, partly because it gave me an excuse to study her. Aife was an enigma that I wanted to figure out; there was something so compelling about this woman. She was more than an attractive person; she kept me engaged and laughing.

We settled into her apartment, and I took the

opportunity to look around. It was neat, everything had a place. She had little trinkets and photos scattered around. Everything seemed so colorful too. I could tell purple and blue were her favorite colors based on the decorations. Her place just felt cozy. There were even small plants around, more pops of color against her dark furniture. Ordinarily, it would be an assault on my eyes, but it just felt like Aife.

Aife motioned for me to settle on the couch as we

both devoured our burritos. When we had finished, she grabbed her laptop and started clicking away at the keys. A cute furrow formed between her eyebrows as she concentrated on her paper. There was determination written on her face, almost like she could change the world with her words. I was sure she could. In the little I had learned 99

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of her, she was wicked smart. Aife’s passion was also prominent in all she did. It made her all the more beautiful, which was dangerous for me. Relationships had to be off the table. Not only had I made a promise, I wasn’t ready to be with someone again.

“You’re staring.” Her words pulled me back into