Page 41 of Fault Line

They’re not buying it, that much is obvious. Will snickers and says, “Yeah, because everyone runs errands at midnight on a Saturday.”

Bodie nudges me with his elbow, a sly grin on his face. “Come on, man. We won’t judge. Did you hook up with someone?”

My cheeks burn with discomfort, and I avert my gaze. I don’t want to lie to them, but I’m not ready to share the details of my night with Kaia. “Nah, man,” I say, brushing him off. “Just had some business to take care of.”

They keep pushing, trying to get me to fill them in, but I manage to deflect their questions. I don’t want to share this story with them yet. It feels too personal. And honestly, I’m afraid that if I tell them about Kaia, it’ll somehow jinx my chances of a repeat.

Thankfully, they drop the subject as we start our workout. I stack some weights on the bar, trying to focus on my lifts and decompress. But in between each rep, my mind drifts back to the girl with the tear-filled eyes, and I’m haunted by it.

I still feel like a dick for making her cry earlier, for pushing too hard, for poking at an insecurity I didn’t even know existed. And I’ll be damned if I ever let it happen again.

* * *

The next day,I mentally prep for our second dissertation meeting. I managed to organize myself after procrastinating until the very last minute, letting the distractions get the better of me. But despite the delay, I’m not too concerned about it.

If the work gets done eventually, does the timeline really matter?

When I arrive at Dr. Khatri’s office, I find Kaia already waiting outside. She seems nervous and uneasy, like she’s been fretting over this meeting all night. But as always, she also looks stunning, and an undeniable wave of attraction washes over me.

“Hey,” I say, taking a seat beside her on the bench.

She acknowledges me with a quick flick of her wrist, unwilling to offer anything more. Then we sit in silence for a few painstaking moments until Dr. Khatri opens her door and invites us in. We take our seats opposite her desk, and she asks us how we’re doing.

“All’s good over here,” I say, charming her with a wide smile.

Kaia nods her agreement, but I can tell that she’s not in a good mood. She seems annoyed, more unsettled than usual, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s directed toward me.

On the other hand, Dr. Khatri is her typical calm and collected self. She peers over the top of her glasses, briefly assessing us before she dives in.

“Holden, you’ve done a great job narrowing down your search terms and defining your concepts,” she says, flipping through my paperwork. “You came up with less than a hundred results to sift through, which is fantastic.”

A sense of pride floods through me, but I don’t want to come across as arrogant in front of Kaia.

“Kaia, on the other hand, you cast a much wider net,” Dr. Khatri continues. “We need to work on narrowing down your language and better defining your concepts.”

“Of course,” Kaia says, radiating her usual confidence. “I’ll work on it.”

“Great.” Dr. Khatri gives her a small nod of approval before turning back to me. “Holden, well done on your initial search. You seem to have a good handle on your project already.”

“Thank you,” I say, sneaking a glance at Kaia. If she’s at all upset about the situation, then she’s doing her absolute best to hide it. “You know, I’d be happy to help Kaia workshop her question.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Dr. Khatri says, her eyes lighting up. “Kaia, do you have time to set something up with Holden?”

“Of course, thank you, Holden.” Kaia gives me a tight smile. “That’s very kind of you.”

Although her tone is irritated, I can tell she’s trying to put on a brave face. We spend the rest of the meeting discussing the next stage in the process, but Kaia doesn’t spare me another glance.

As we stand up to leave, thanking Dr. Khatri for her time, a sense of unease settles in the pit of my gut, nagging at me that I fucked everything up yet again.

Like a dog on a leash, I follow Kaia out of the building. She’s walking at a breakneck pace, and I have to jog a little to catch up with her. Once I do, I casually bump her shoulder.

“Well, that went well, don’t you think?” I ask, trying to diffuse the tension.

“Sure,” she says through gritted teeth. “If you were trying to make me look even more incompetent.”

“Ah.” I wince. “That was definitely not my intention.”

She stops walking, giving me an exasperated look. “Oh, Dr. Khatri, I’d be happy to help Kaia workshop her question,” she mocks in a grating voice.

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