Chapter 7
What did a kiss really mean?
It was the soft, fleeting brush of lips, the tentative prodding of a tongue gently prying teeth apart.
There was no rehearsed rhythm, only the raw, honest heat unique to teenagers. Acting on pure instinct, he struck exactly the right chord, sending ripples outward that stirred the quickening race of their hearts, matching the climb in temperature.
It felt like an eternity before Chloe surfaced from the haze first.
She gently pushed his head away from her neck, her voice coming out rougher than she intended, with only a faint, barely noticeable tremor. "Go take a shower."
"I-I-I'll go right now!" Ryan scrambled back from the thick, intoxicating atmosphere.
He hated how quickly the warmth of her skin faded from his palms, but the sudden rush of clarity sent a hot flush crawling all the way to his ears.
He stumbled into the bathroom, his movements awkward, and proceeded to take the longest shower of his life.
When Ryan finally emerged, the boy's shyness had vanished, replaced by a quiet, hungry determination.
"Chloe, you're shaking... is it because it feels good?" Ryan asked, his voice shaky and full of nerves.
"Wait, stop moving! I just bumped my head on the headboard," Chloe blurted out.
"Sorry, sorry! I'll put a pillow here so you don't hit yourself again..." Ryan scrambled, fumbling with the pillow in a panic.
Outside, the city lights had blazed into existence, weaving a glittering tapestry under the night sky. Inside, the lamplight fell soft and warm, swathing the room in a gentle glow.
Guided by "textbooks" and "tutorial videos", Chloe drew on her own feelings to walk Ryan through every step, the lesson stretching late into the night.
Afterward, they both fell into a dead, heavy sleep.
Morning brought a rare grogginess to Chloe.
Such deep, satisfying sleep was a luxury; every muscle in her body felt loose and languid. She curled into Ryan's chest, too exhausted to force her eyes open.
Ryan looked down at her, his voice soft with a touch of pride. "Chloe, how was I last night?"
"Not bad. Just like when you game. You pick things up fast," she mumbled through a yawn, her mind already drifting halfway to her GRE flashcards. She'd barely muttered a handful of key terms before sleep pulled her back under.
"So..." The pink tint crept up Ryan's jawline to the tips of his ears. He held up one finger, awkward and quiet. "Can we... go over it again?"
Drifting in a haze of sleep, Chloe let her head slip lower against his chest.
Ryan completely misread the gesture. He pinned her against the mattress, still dazed and confused, and conducted another meticulous, thorough "review" that lasted the entire morning.
The consequences of overindulgence struck hard, though. Chloe suffered an allergic reaction to the hotel's shoddy linens, forcing Ryan to hit pause on his peak learning streak and practice self-restraint in the most difficult way possible.
Two months slipped by in the blink of an eye.
By now, the pair needed no reference materials at all. They could even select their own "topics" to explore, moving in perfect, easy sync.
As the old dream faded at the edges, sinking back into the darkness of memory, Chloe slowly opened her eyes. Staring at the familiar ceiling of her dorm, she pushed back the covers and swung her legs out of bed.
A new day was beginning.
Chloe had just pushed herself upright when Maya scrambled over the edge of the bed frame, her intentions written clearly on her face. "Chloe, I heard from a classmate that Professor Bennett's experiment made progress.
"Are you still heading to the lab today? Can I come bring you lunch? Pleeeease?"
There was no concern for her roommate, only a giddy, unhidden hunger for a chance to share a "casual" lunch with Ethan.
Their dorm featured the standard loft bed setup: bed on top, desk underneath.
Chloe held the handrail and climbed down, then gave Maya the answer she'd been hoping for. "I've got things to do during the day. I'll go to the lab in the evening."
"Then I'll bring you dinner." Maya followed right on her heels, not an inch behind. "What do you feel like eating?"
"Anything's fine." Chloe gently nudged her back. "I need to get changed."
Mission accomplished, Maya let herself be pushed away easily, humming happily as she planned. "Okay, I'll pick something good then.
"Ethan likes light food, and you can't handle spice... how about some mild, fresh homestyle dishes like baked salmon, roasted veggies, and creamy mashed potatoes? That works for both of you."
Ten minutes later, Chloe slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out. She spent her usual morning absorbed in the library, then walked straight to the restaurant Ethan had booked, arriving right on time.
Ethan had already put in their order. Without a second thought, he pulled out the chair next to him. "Sit here. It'll be easier to walk through the data."
Chloe sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I don't think I'm late, am I?"
"Of course not. I got here early," Ethan replied.
Just then, the server arrived with their drinks. Ethan took them, placing one gently right at her hand. "If we wrap this up quickly, you can get to the lab and start working sooner. No time wasted."
"Then let's get started immediately." Chloe was pleased with how efficiently Ethan had organized the schedule.
She pulled her notes from her bag and spread them out between them.
Ethan's gaze fell on her bag: plain black canvas, no prints, no keychains dangling.
From their very first meeting to every encounter after, she had always carried this same one.
Solid black, washed clean over and over, yet the edges were fraying almost completely through.
"Don't you think it's time for a new bag? It's nice that you stick with things, but if you keep using it like this, something is bound to fall out. You'd be kicking yourself if you lost your experiment notes.
With his reminder, Chloe looked down at her bag, and sure enough, the corner had come unstitched.
"We have an extra one like this in the lab; no one is using it. If you don't mind, you can take it with you tonight," Ethan said gently.
Author's Note: The second male lead in novels was always the eternally gentle type. Though, to be honest, he didn't even really count as a second lead here.
The more time Chloe spent with Ethan, the more she understood why Maya had a crush on him.
Place him beside Ryan, that childish, motor-mouth department heartthrob, and it was not just Maya or his own girlfriend, even all the other classmates, would find falling for someone this gentle, this thoughtful, this perfectly measured simply inevitable.