Page 90 of Kismet

The air is humid and warm, and the scent of chlorine encompasses the room when I walk through the door. There are eight lanes, and it doesn’t look like anyone is here except him. He’s in the lane closest to the door, currently underwater and swimming laps. His gym bag and towel are on the bleachers to my left.

My gaze never leaves him as I stride over to the bleachers. I watch him for a couple of laps, and he thankfully doesn’t see me. Watching him swim is enrapturing. His form is amazing and the way he glides through the water is effortless. His body was made for this.

I set the coffee down next to his bag before turning on my heel and leaving. It’s still cold as shit outside, so I’m glad the walk from here to my office isn’t too far.

Students are already trickling on campus, probably on their way to their first class of the day. A couple of them stop and say hi to me, or wave when they see me. Truthfully, I don’t have too many problem students this year. It’s been nice.

Mary, one of our newer administrative assistants, looks up from her desk when I walk in, smiling wide. “Good morning, Dean Philips. How are you doing?”

“Morning, Mary. I’m doing great. How ’bout yourself?”

“Doing well. Thank you for asking.”

I flick on the lights in my office, shutting the door partially. Then I walk over to the windows and open the blinds. Despite the chilly temperatures in the air, the sun is still out and shining. Sliding into my chair and powering on my computer, I get to work answering emails and addressing any concerns that came up over winter break.

I have back-to-back meetings today and hardly notice how much time has passed until a soft knock comes from my door.

“Come in!”

The wooden door pushes open, and Molly pops her head in before walking all the way through. “Hey, baby bro. Hope you’re hungry!” She has two large white bags in her hands, and the aroma of Italian food wafts through my office.

“Starving. Thanks for bringing lunch. Why aren’t you at work?”

She sets the bags on the desk and we both get to work unloading everything. There’s this small, family-run restaurant down the street from the university that we love to order from. We always choose like three or four different dishes, and just split it, eating a little bit of everything.

“I had a doctor’s appointment, so I took the afternoon off, but the appointment was canceled—the doctor was out sick.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask her, while opening the container that holds the chicken Alfredo. My mouth waters as I look at it.

“I don’t know. I’m sure she just has the flu or something.”

She opens the container holding the chicken parmesan, smiling like a madwoman as she opens her utensils.

“No, dumbass. Is everything okay with you?”

“Oh!” She laughs, which makes me laugh. “Yeah, I’m good. Yearly check-up.”

We both dig in, eating in comfortable silence for a while. The food is fucking delicious, and I skipped breakfast on accident, so I could eat a horse. In addition to the Alfredo and chicken parmesan, she also picked up spaghetti and meatballs, and enough breadsticks to feed a tiny army.

“So, how’s things?” she asks in between bites, brow quirked.

“Eh, not too bad. Things at work have been busy, but not too stressful. I spent my entire morning in meetings. What about you?”

“Kind of shitty, to be honest. One of the nurses at the clinic quit without any notice, and we just took on a new doctor, so patients have picked up. I’m slammed constantly, and I don’t even know if the office manager plans to replace the nurse that left.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, Mol.”

“It’s okay. I’ll get through it. Julian is out of town this week on a club run.” She rolls her eyes. She’s supportive of him and the club, but I know sometimes it can be draining on her.

“Do you want to come over to my house for dinner tonight instead of me going to yours? You can sleep over if you want, and we can order pizza, so you don’t have to cook.”

“Sure, that sounds nice.” She smiles, but it’s tired and doesn’t quite meet her eyes.

A knocking sounds from my door. I don’t know who it could be because I wasn’t expecting anyone.

“Come in.”

My stomach jumps to my throat when none other than Cash peeks his head around the door. I don’t miss the way his cheeks pink slightly when his gaze lands on Molly.

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