Page 38 of Love in the Lab
He’s getting settled on the bench when I come around the corner of the building. When he sees me, his eyes light up. “Hey!”
“Hi.” I wave awkwardly. I’m not sure what to say and feel uncomfortably like I’m about to break up with someone when they have no idea there’s a problem. But of course, we’re not breaking up because we were never dating.
He gestures for me to come closer. “Come sit down. How was the visit from your parents?”
Small talk first. I can do that. “Great! It was really good to see them. They left this morning to drive to Florida to see my sister.”
“Where in Florida does your sister live?” Jonathan takes a bite of his sandwich as he waits for my response.
“St. Anastasia. It’s a small town close to Jacksonville.” I sit on the bench and unzip the top flap on my lunchbox.
“That’s cool. I’ve never heard of it. Is she younger or older than you? Do you have other siblings?” He chuckles. “I guess I’d like to know more about your family.”
Despite my nervousness, I smile as I pick at the wrapper of my granola bar. “I have two sisters, both younger. Nicole is the sister who lives in Florida, and she’s closest in age to me. Olivia is the youngest. She lives in Austin with my parents.”
“Is that where you grew up? I remember you’re from Texas.” He’s finished his sandwich now and pulls an apple from his bag, shining the skin against his shirt before crunching into it.
“Yeah.”
“It’s funny that you’re one of three sisters. I have three little nieces. My older sister Tamara’s girls.”
I finally open the granola bar and chew a piece as I consider. “You’re from Ohio, I think you said. Right?”
He swallows a bite of apple before answering. “Yep. The Buckeye State. Most of my family still live there.”
“What about your parents?”
Jonathan’s expression changes, his lips pinching as a wrinkle forms between his eyebrows. He taps his fingers against the bench’s armrest. “They’re divorced,” he says quickly.
“I’m sorry. Do they still live in Ohio?”
His eyes are trained on the last few bits of apple on the core in his hands. “My dad does. My mom lives in New Delhi at the moment.”
“New Delhi, India? That’s amazing!” I exclaim, but his mood has shifted. He shrugs, and my skin prickles at his discomfort.
I don’t push him. Instinctively, I lay my hand on his arm and squeeze. He meets my eyes, and time stops. At first, his gaze is cloudy, his eyebrows drawn together and his eyes narrowed. But the longer we’re locked together, the more his expression relaxes until he’s smiling again.
I’m not sure what he sees in my eyes, but I know what’s happening inside of me. My heartbeat feels erratic. A quiver in my stomach causes a vibration that carries up my spine and exits my body through my shoulders as a shiver. All from a simple touch.
I drop my hand and clear my throat. Awkwardly, I plow ahead to the topic I came out here to talk to him about and which feels more urgent than ever after the moment we just had.
“So, listen,” I start. “This thing we’ve been doing—it’s been fun, but I need to refocus on my work.”
“What have we been doing?” Jonathan’s eyebrows drop in confusion. “Fieldwork? Getting to know each other better? Eating together?”
“No!” I say loudly. Lowering my voice, I whisper, “Thepranks.”
Jonathan rubs his chin, his eyes widening innocently. “What pranks? I guess there has been some weird stuff happening at the lab lately.” He gasps. “Are you sayingyouhad something to do with all that?”
I huff out a breath. “Jonathan!” I whisper furiously.
His eyes twinkle. “Chill, Molly Wolly Doodle.” He rubs his thumb over the space between my eyebrows, smoothing the skin. He trails his thumb above my eyebrow and then between the corner of my eye and my hairline. I hold my breath, watching his eyes as they track the path of his thumb. He continues downmy jawline, and goosebumps erupt across my face everywhere he touches. I shiver.
“The air’s getting cooler, isn’t it?” he asks in a husky voice, his eyes flicking to mine. “Maybe we’ll have an early fall this year.”
I pull away because it’s muggy and at least eighty-five degrees out here. The air around us shouldn’t be making me shiver, and he knows it.
Jonathan drops his hand. “I’m going to go back upstairs.” He stands. “Enjoy the rest of your lunch.”
