Wild(35)

            I slid him a look. He was tall and lanky. His chestnut hair fell low across his forehead, brushing his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

            “Well, you’re an undergrad.” He tossed his hair back in a move I’d witnessed him do constantly in the last hour. It only ever fell back on his forehead. “Dr. Chase must be pretty impressed with you.”

            “Dr. Chase liked my final paper—”

            “That’s it? I mean you didn’t hypnotize him?” He waved a hand in a small circle, wiggling his fingers.

            “You get you’re being insulting, right?” I stopped and looked at him, trying to hide a smile.

            “Hey, no offense!”

            “I didn’t sleep with him if that’s what you’re angling at. God, what a cliché that would be.”

            He shuddered. “Oh, I wasn’t even going there. He smells like Taco Bell.”

            “Right?” I laughed as we stepped outside and descended the steps.

            “Butttt.” He cocked his head in mock contemplation. “You know what they say about clichés.”

            I stopped at the base of the steps leading up to the library and propped a hand on my hip. “So is this what it’s going to be like all summer? You and Gillian looking at me like I’m some sort of incompetent who slept with her professor to get a job? Maybe I should go talk to Dr. Chase?”

            “Shit.” Connor dragged a hand through his flopping hair, his eyes wide with horror. “I’m kidding. Sorry, I guess I really screwed this up.”

            I dropped my hand and winked. “I’m just messing with you.”

            He grabbed his chest. “Damn. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” He released his chest as I laughed and looked me over. “You’re all right, Undergrad.”

            “Thanks.”

            “Good to know I didn’t screw up.”

            “Screw what up?”

            “This. Small talk. Flirtation.”

            “Is that what you were doing?” I teased. “It was hard to tell.”

            “Ouch.” He chuckled and readjusted his grip on the strap of his backpack. “Yeah. I was trying.”

            I studied him a moment. He was cute. His face was broad with brackets edging his mouth, like he smiled a whole lot. A good sign.

            Sucking in a breath, I decided getting out there again might be a good thing. I couldn’t solely fixate on Logan. It wasn’t healthy. “You know you could just ask a girl out for coffee. Or a smoothie. I like those.”

            “Do you want to go get a coffee right now?” His face brightened eagerly as I considered him. It was probably a bad idea. We were working together, but . . .

            “Sure,” I heard myself saying. We were only working together for the summer, after all, and I needed new friends. A guy like Connor, someone in grad school . . . older, he might just possess the maturity that had been missing in the guys I had been dating recently.

            Logan’s face flashed across my mind for some reason. I didn’t know why. He and I weren’t dating. And despite his age, I wouldn’t call him immature.

            “So how does the Java Hut sound?” Connor asked, tugging my attention back and motioning in the direction we needed to turn.

            “Sure.” I smiled. “That sounds great.” And I almost meant it.