Page 47 of Not You Again
“I hope that was okay,” he said.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re cocky about this,” she deduced. “Youknowwhen you’re good at something, and because you’re so damn competitive, you’relovinghow more thanokaythat was.”
“I’m not competitive.” He handed her the panties he’d so deftly removed.
She did a laugh-cough of surprise. “Okay, you’renotcompetitive and I’mnotwearing glasses.” She reached up to feel her glasses, but they weren’t there. Adam spotted them on the floor, where they must’ve fallen off during the encounter, and handed them over. “As I said...” She cleared her throat as she placed them back on her face. “I am not wearing glasses.”
Adam finally stood up. He could still taste the salt of her and had to readjust himself. “That escalated quickly.”
“I have to send the Dewey Decimal system a thank-you card,” she said. “Speaking of which...”
Carly stepped into Adam’s space and traced a line with her nail across the side of his neck. His head instinctively leaned in the direction of her hand. They’d gone from kissing, to making out, to him eating her out. And now she seemed about ready to—
“Adam?” a loud voice called out. “Adam Rhodes, shadow band guy, are you in here?”
Carly gave Adam a curious look. “Your reputation precedes you, sir.”
He frowned.Shadow band guy?Who the hell would be calling him that? The only people he’d spoken to about shadow bands were Carly, Shireen and—
Dr. Song came into the room and zeroed in on him. “Adam? I spotted that hearse you drive at the top of the street. I’ve been going into every store in town to find you.”
Adam adjusted his button-down shirt, reminded that only moments ago he’d been on his knees in front of Carly.
“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Dr. Heather Song, Director of Astronomy at Caltech.” She held out a hand, as if he didn’t know who she was, but he shook it nonetheless.
Why was she here? What could she possibly want that would require her searching the entire town for him?
“Adam?” Carly’s curiosity had turned to worry, it seemed.
“I met Dr. Song two loops ago,” he told Carly. “I thought maybe she could help put some of the missing pieces together for the shadow band theory.”
“Forget the shadow bands,” Dr. Song quickly said. “You were right about the eclipse, and the time shortening. It was a minute shorter this loop, I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Yes,” Adam said with a gulp. There was something to be said for vibes, and the vibes coming off this woman were not great.
“I flagged the time change to my colleagues.” Dr. Song shoved her hands in the pockets of her cargo pants and rocked back on her heels. “Their concern, which is also mine, frankly, is that while any change is exciting, in theory, we have to consider all of the options.”
“Right,” Adam responded, not totally clear where she was going.
“I think this could very well be a wormhole we’re in the presence of,” Dr. Song said with the kind of gravity he’d become accustomed to using at his role in the funeral home.
A wormhole?Adam’s skin cooled.
She sighed. “Are you familiar with wormholes?”
Oh, yes, Adam was familiar with the idea of what a wormhole was. Some scientists thought that wormholes didn’t exist at all, while others believed wormholes could potentially be manmade.
He could’ve said that, if Carly ever allowed him a moment to think before speaking. Instead, she began with, “I’ve seen them in sci-fi movies. They’re kind of like a teleportation through space. Helps you get somewhere faster?”
“In sci-fi movies, yes, that’s what a wormhole does.” Dr. Song seemed to be fighting an eyeroll, which really annoyed Adam. Not everyone was a scientist, and besides—Carly wasn’t wrong. The potential side effect of a wormhole could be the ability to bend time.
“Scientists have never found one,” Adam said to Carly. “But it’s more that theythinkit’s very possible they exist.”
It was at this moment that Dr. Song chose to say what Adam knew, but didn’t necessarily want to voice. “More urgently, if they do exist, they eventually collapse on themselves.”
Maybe it was all in Adam’s head, but the air seemed to be sucked right out of the room. Carly, though, didn’t immediately notice the lack of oxygen.
“Collapse?” Carly’s brows furrowed as she looked back to Adam. “Like, the time loop ending, right?”
