Page 54 of Drown Like Heaven
We all ended up sitting on random stools most of the time, Jacob talking about his internship experiences while we listened and the others asked questions.
There were five different polymers we were testing, and one blend of two of the others. As predicted, our molds wouldn’t come apart half the time. But it was kinda funny watching Nateand Jackson trying to jam a flathead screwdriver between the metal plates while Jacob attempted to instruct them—before eventually taking over and prying the plates apart to reveal our fucked-up samples himself.
It didn’t seem to matter how much mold-release spray we coated the metal molds with before putting them into the press; it was up to sheer luck whether or not we got usable samples out of our attempts.
Quinn and I spent some time taking pictures of things in the lab to include in our final lab report. Pictures of the different polymer pellets before melting, pictures of the press, pictures of the molds cooling in front of a fan.
About halfway through the lab period was when the door opened.
“Just here to check in,” a masculine voice said.Dr. Killshaw.
I spun around to watch him entering the lab, tall and self-assured and important-looking. Vaguely, I knew he was doing other research work at Blackpine, and his sole job wasn’t teaching, but I wasn’t sure exactlywhathe did.
“Going alright,” Jacob answered, keeping an eye on the pressure rising on the heated press. “Polyethylene and polystyrene are done, and we’ve got the EPM-PU blend in there now. EPM by itself was taken out of the mold too early so they’re going to use one of the samples from last year.”
He glanced at the stringy mess on one of the counters—the failed EPM attempt.
“That’s good progress,” Dr. Killshaw commented, striding farther into the room, inspecting our finished samples laying on the counter. I looked up at the sticker on the front of his hard hat.Micah Killshaw. Seeing his first name printed out made him feel like more of a real person. My pulse sped up. “I assume you’re going to do the polyurethane next, and then PET?”
Jacob nodded to affirm.
Dr. Killshaw propped his hands on his hips, watching Nate and Jackson remove the next mold from the press while explaining a little more background on the science of polymers and giving tips for our report—which Quinn and I were dutifully scribbling down. One section of the report was a hypothetical design scenario, so he helped us talk through potential ideas for it.
His intelligence was subtly infused into every single word he spoke. I could feel it during lecture, but even more so like this, when I knew everything was unscripted and all his responses were based purely on his expert knowledge of engineering.
While Jacob helped Nate fill up another mold with the polyurethane pellets, Dr. Killshaw’s cold blue eyes slid to meet my green ones, something controlled and shadowy in the depths of his stare.
I didn’t look away this time.
Neither did he.
It felt almost like I was under a microscope, the way he was looking at me. Like he was trying to figure me out, his stare cautiously restrained butlingering.
I rolled my lips together, feeling my face heating.
Maybe he was wondering whyIwas eyeing him so obviously. The embarrassment of that thought made me move my gaze back to my notes…but I swore I could still feel him watching in my peripheral.
I dared another glance at him.
He was still staring at me.
I just couldn’t figure out why, or why it was making me so hot all of a sudden. His eyes narrowed an infinitesimal amount, sharpening his gaze. Shifting how I was sitting on the stool, I let my gaze flick downwards onto his body for an instant. His broad chest and carved shoulders, his slim waist and strong neck.
A man who knows what he wants, and has the means to get it. The patience to earn it. The discipline to deserve it.
Whether that was experiment results, research funding, or…other things.
I found myself wondering how a man like him liked to fuck.
And that was when I officially banned myself from observing him any longer. My nails pressed into my palms and I gritted my teeth.
Fuck, my group has been talking this entire time.
I had no clue what they’d been saying. But from the way Dr. Killshaw was joining in, it was clear he’d been listening the whole time.
Am I deluding myself into believing there was something charged in his eyes when he looked at me? Am I losing my mind?
Dr. Killshaw left after a few more minutes, and we continued making our polymer samples for the next hour. Once our samples were prepared for Thursday and the lab space was all tidied up, we all went our separate ways.
