Page 67 of Mud, Love, and Chemistry

Sam snorts. “Glad you think it’s funny.”

“I’m sorry,” I say between breaths.

He tilts his head to the side. “Actually, what are you doing over here? You never leave this way either.”

My jovial expression ices over, and I clear my throat. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, about what?”

“Um, well...” I drop my gaze to my feet, watching as I dig my toe into the low-pile carpet. “We need to...” I lift my head, the words on the tip of my tongue, but when I meet his deep brown eyes, I lose what little confidence I had. “We never prepped for tomorrow night.”

“Oh,” he says, the light in his eyes dimming.

“I have all the questions and stuff ready. I could email it to you. If you don’t mind putting the presentation together, that is.”

He shakes his head, his lips pressed into a flat line.

“Okay, thanks.” I take small steps backward. At the corner, I peek around the edge. “I think the coast is clear.”

Relief takes over Sam’s face. “Cool, thanks. I think I’ll hang here for another minute or two, though. Just to be safe.”

I nod and turn the corner, letting my embarrassment fuel me as I practically run away.

Chapter 21

The next day, I make sure to arrive at study group at 4:55 p.m. so I don’t have to be alone with Sam too long. As I walk through the door, I let out a dramatic sigh, insinuating I didn’t intend to be late. I flop my bag onto the floor, plopping into my chair.

“You okay?” Sam asks, his eyebrows raised with curiosity.

I nod. “Just a long day of tutoring.” It isn’t a complete lie. I did have a long day of tutoring, but it wasn’t nearly as stressful as I’m letting on. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem. Everything’s ready to go.” He motions to the computer and up to the projector screen.

As I give him an approving smile, a lull finds its way between us. Hanging in the silence is the conversation I know I must have, but don’t want to have.

Luckily, I’m saved when our classmates arrive and the room explodes with conversation. Sam and I begin the session where we play a fun game similar to Family Feud. Sam presents the questions and the teams can either answer or pass to the other team. It ends up being a riot with how competitive this class is.

When our time is up, everyone leaves. Well, almost everyone. Maya lags behind the group, coming to linger at the desk where Sam and I are packing up.

“Are you doing anything after this, Sam?” she asks, a glimmer of hope shining in her tone.

A pained look comes over his face, and I can tell he’s struggling to find the right words to say. I’m overcome with pity for the poor guy, so I chime in, “Actually, we do need to talk about next week’s study group.”

Sam shoots me a thankful look, but clears his throat. “Oh, yeah, you’re right, Brynn. Sorry, Maya, not tonight.”

“Oh, of course. No problem.” She smiles sweetly at him, batting her eyelashes before turning a not-so-sweet smile in my direction. “See you guys later,” she says, and exits the room.

Sam noticeably relaxes. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it.” I shrug. “But we do really need to talk about next week.”

“Okay, but we can do that tomorrow.”

“Yeah, well...” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I kind of wanted to talk about that, too.”

Sam stares at me, a slight panic in his eyes.

Reluctantly, I say, “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be alone together anymore.”

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