Page 85 of Psync
“I promise you I can manage that last one.”
“Hush, I’m trying to get this coffee inside of me, and you’re slowing down the process.”
Haruka dropped Eli off at his class—almost on time. Outside the door, Haruka planted a hand on Eli’s chest, pushed him against the wall, and leaned in. Eli blocked his face with both arms. “Not here!”
Haruka let him go, but his low chuckle followed Eli as he hurried into the classroom.
He jerked up his hood to cover his burning face because, of course, everyone turned to see who had arrived late.
Jerk. He thought it as hard as he could, and a second later he got a brief impression of amusement.
???
Nate and Alice met him at the door at the end of class.
“You know you don’t have to do this every day, right?” Eli said in lieu of a greeting. This had to be getting old for them. He knew he was certainly getting tired of being shepherded around everywhere he went.
“We don’t have to, but we want to,” Alice said.
“I know you do, but really, there’s no need. The police told me Ash is out on bail, but he’s gone home to Boston with a shiny new ankle bracelet until the trial.” Eli kept his voice down because he didn’t want everyone to know his business. His department was notoriously nosy. “At this point, it’s just Haruka being paranoid.”
“I don’t blame him,” Nate said. “You looked terrible the next day. Scared the shit out of me.”
“Everyone on the campus isn’t like Ash. I’m not a celebrity or a politician, guys.” Ew, as if. “I don’t need an escort everywhere I go.”
“Oh, Eli! We’ve been helicoptering you, haven’t we?” Alice’s eyes were suddenly big and wet. “I’m so sorry!”
Any second now Eli was going to have a crying girl on his hands. He needed to do something fast.
He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he put a hand on her shoulder. No alarms sounded, nobody jumped out from behind a potted plant and dragged him off to jail for doing something out of character, and it didn’t feel horribly wrong. It didn’t feel good, but it was a start.
“It’s okay, Alice, really.”
It had the opposite effect he intended. Tears streamed down Alice’s cheeks, and she began to sob. Horrified, Eli snatched his hand back.
Fuck. He was not up for hugging. Not now, maybe not ever. He looked at Nate anxiously. “I think I broke her.”
“You’re really okay, aren’t you?” Alice howled.
“It’s fine, Eli. Those are her happy tears.” Nate put an arm around Alice and squeezed her shoulder. “I promise you didn’t break her.”
“I love you, Eli!” Alice sniffed and searched her purse, pulling out a tissue.
“I love you too, Alice.” Eli looked at both of his friends. “So . . . does this mean you’ll stop treating me like someone is going to drop out of the sky and kill me at any moment?”
Nate and Alice exchanged glances.
“I think we can do that, but I’m not even going to begin to speak for Haruka,” Nate said.
Eli laughed nervously. “Maybe we don’t have to mention this to him?”
Nate threw up his hands and backed up. “Hey, I’m not lying to the guy. He’s fucking scary. I won’t bring it up, but if he asks, I will definitely rat you out.”
“Same. I’m staying on his good side.” Alice chimed in, looking more composed than she had a minute ago, though she still had a sheen in her eyes. “Actually, this works out for me. I forgot to put on my estrogen patch this morning and haven’t had a chance to go back for it.”
And that was how Eli found himself with an entire hour to himself for the first time in weeks.
It was glorious.
