I glance at the text message Lex sent me this morning as Adam and I head to our next class. Celeste all but begged me to text him to let him know I received the flowers she brought me, and ever since, he’s texted me to wish me a good day and sweet dreams — every single morning and evening. I don’t know what to make of him at all. He claims not to want a relationship, yet his actions are in contrast with that. Sooner or later, we’ll need to talk and get our expectations aligned. I don’t want to be led on or read more into things than I should.
“It’s so annoying that we aren’t on the same team,” Adam says as he holds the door open for me. “We always work so well together. Now we’re both just going to be slowed down due to sheer inefficiency.”
I look up and grin. “You haven’t even met your team mates yet, Adam. Maybe they’re not so bad.”
“He did it on purpose, I’m sure of it,” he complains, and a hint of unease runs down my spine. I laughed it off the first time Adam said it, but was he right? It wouldn’t be the first time Lex orchestrated a situation.
We both look up as Windsor Motors drones approach us, and within seconds, the drones are leading us to our stations and our team members. The technology is fascinating, but it’s also intimidating. It’s disheartening to know that it’s highly unlikely anything we create in this class would hold a candle to Lex’s inventions, but at the same time, I’m excited to try.
“Raya Lewis, right?” a guy I vaguely recognize says.
I nod at my team, my cheeks heating when I realize they’d all been studying my design intently.
“John,” he adds, offering me a sweet smile, before tipping his head to the tall girl standing next to him, her hijab matching perfectly with her pale pink blouse. “This is Halima,” he adds, before turning toward the short blonde guy, “and that is Simon.”
“It’s so good to meet you all,” I tell them, flustered. The last couple of days have been such a whirlwind that I haven’t had time to worry about the responsibilities that come with being a team leader. I’ve been so overwhelmed that it barely registered.
Halima hands me a list of materials. “I hope you don’t mind, but I checked what the lab had in stock based on what your design plan incorporated, and then found substitutes for what wasn’t available. I’ve been told that we can order in materials if we’d like, pending Professor Windsors’ approval.”
“This is perfect,” I tell her as I read over her list, grateful she took the initiative to do this. “Shall we gather what we need?”
She nods at me just as Simon whistles. I turn to follow his gaze and find Lexington walking into the room, her eyes on his watch and a frown on his face. He looks up, our eyes locking, and I blush inadvertently when his expression darkens as his gaze roams over my face, his lips forming a smile.
“Damn,” Simon says, groaning. “Maybe I should fail this class so I can offer to do anything for extra credit.”
My eyes widen, and I stare at him in shock. Halima merely throws me a sympathetic look. “He’s always this inappropriate,” she explains. “He starts to think out loud the second an even remotely attractive man enters his peripheral vision. You’ll learn to tune him out soon enough. Just ignore it like I do. He’s incorrigible.”
Simon sighs. “I said that out loud, did I?”
John bursts out laughing and shakes his head. “I can’t even blame you,” he says, bringing his fist to his mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. “Even I can appreciate the way that man wears a suit.” He glances at Lex and frowns. “I’ve been trying to figure out who he’s marrying and can’t even find the slightest clue. The Windsors have been so secretive about his fiancée, but I don’t think he’ll be able to hide it for long. I read in The Herald that Lexington bought a ridiculously priced yellow diamond at a prestigious auction, so now we just wait for that diamond to rock up on someone’s finger.”
For a moment, my eyes drop to my empty ring finger, and longing crashes through me. I always thought I’d get a grand proposal, and a yellow diamond is what I’ve always dreamed of. It hurts to know that dream will never become a reality. Lex made it clear he has no interest in romance, so even if that story is true, the diamond wouldn’t be for a ring. A birthday gift for Sierra, perhaps. Whoever it’s for… it isn’t me.
“Let’s get started,” I tell them, needing a distraction. “Competition will be fierce, and I really don’t think I offer any advantage at all. Everything I knew about making my design work was in my plan, so all teams that were assigned my design have as much information as I do. We just have to be quicker, so we have more time to troubleshoot, and I can almost guarantee we’ll need that time.”
They nod, their expressions rapidly becoming serious as I divide our tasks and check that everyone is okay with the parts they’ve been assigned. For the first twenty minutes, we work together seamlessly. It’s one of those things I love about being at Astor College — almost everyone here truly has a grand vision for their future, and we’re all willing to work hard for it. Being teased about how much I loved studying is one of the parts of high school I definitely don’t miss.
“I see you’ve gathered your materials and you’re already halfway through building the framework for your drone,” Lex says, sneaking up behind me.
I gasp and jump, dropping my soldering iron. He chuckles and wraps his hand around my waist, steadying me. “I’m sorry,” he tells me, his gaze roaming over my face. He holds on to me for a few moments longer than necessary. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I turn to face him fully and tilt my face up toward his, my heart beating a little faster. Even now, he looks at me like I’m the only girl in the room, and I hate it. I hate how much hope he gives me every time he’s near.
“Apologies, Professor Windsor,” I say, my tone hesitant. Standing here with him and pretending he’s nothing but a stranger isn’t as easy as I wish it was. “When I focus on something, everything else just fades away. I’m really bad at paying attention to my surroundings.”
His hand brushes against mine, once, twice. “I’ll be sure not to sneak up on you again, then,” he says, before glancing at our work. “This was a winning design, but that doesn’t mean you can’t adapt it in the execution phase. Sometimes things that work on paper don’t work in practice.”
I turn back toward our work, and he leans in over my shoulder, standing far closer than he really should. “That’s some really nice wiring work, but it’s very intricate. Have you taken heat into account? What about safety? Would the slightest malfunction cause this design to drop from the sky like a rock, not just breaking the drone, but potentially harming someone?”
“Shit,” I mutter when I realize he’s right. I’m great at working on cars, where every single component has its own established place, but smaller devices such as these are tricky for me.
He places his hand on my lower back and straightens. “It’s good work, but it needs to be refined.” He smiles then. “Which reminds me, there’s something I meant to discuss with you regarding your design. Please see me after class.”
I nod nervously, thrown off and more than a little flustered. This is the first time he’s specifically told me to come see him, not giving me an out. With only two weeks left until the wedding, it’s clear he’s done giving me space.
