Never Waste Chemistry: Smith & Guy University, #2

Chapter 1

I love nerdy, cute, quirky boys who don’t take themselves too seriously.

~ Ariana Grande ~

T hey’re showing me how to pull a blood sample from a rat. The next thing I know, I’m sitting on the ground.

Adam and I were sitting in a booth at Baker’s Dozen, the local campus coffee shop and bakery where my roommate, Harper, worked. She had told me a half priced drink promotion called Midterm Mocha was going on today.

I mentioned the promotion to Adam while attending St. John’s with him. Several people overheard, and the word spread. A group of about twenty from the St. John college group descended on Baker’s Dozen after church. The entire church thing was weird for a non-religious person, but I did like talking and eating afterwards, even if I was not actually a member of the group.

Once the group dwindled, Adam, my boyfriend of three weeks, and I were left alone. We were still in the getting to know you phase. A fact which surprised and thoroughly tickled me. Today’s topic seemed to be Embarrassing Things.

You passed out? Adam asked with a guffaw.

Yep.

Adam rocked in his seat. Do you have a history of passing out?

I shrugged. Nope. It’s happened twice, but the last time was solely about food.

A sage nod. Ahh. Low blood sugar?

Hypoglycemia.

Right. My mom’s got that. Has to eat every few hours or she gets shaky. Adam sent a critical look my way. But that’s not why you passed out at the interview, is it?

I hate that I have no control over my blushes. Their appearance is so less than helpful. Yeah, well, it was easier to say I hadn’t eaten than admit reality.

Adam grinned then leaned across the table to whisper, And what’s the real reason? You can tell me.

Damn blushes, I thought with a sigh then answered, The blood.

Adam failed to choke back a laugh.

Hands on hips despite the fact that I was sitting, I hissed at him, Oh, come on. The job required me to draw blood from a rodent. How would it look if I keeled over every time?

Sorry. It’s not funny. His attempt to stop laughing only resulted in more of it. Except that it is since lots of people pass out around blood.

He rubbed his hands together, like he was preparing to share the biggest secret. The star quarterback at my high school hit the floor over a flu shot. A flu shot. Took out three cheerleaders who were clinging to him for ‘support.’

Ok, that was funny. Sure they were, I snorted.

At any rate, it’s not a big deal. Adam glanced away with a muttered, Not eating though, that’s a big deal, depending on stuff.

I leaned my head to one side. Stuff like an eating disorder? Or stuff like too poor to buy food?

His eyes met mine as he nodded. Yeah. The serious stuff that people don’t like to talk about.

I did not know enough about his past to ask if he had suffered from one or both of those. I was not comfortable enough yet to pry. Harper went through a phase where she didn’t eat. Wanted to lose weight. I ruined it. Brought extra food to school. Called her mom.

Adam’s lips quirked up. I’ll bet you did. So tell me, Edee, how long did she last?

About two weeks.

Chapter 2

Why fit in when you were born to stand out.

~ Dr. Seuss ~

The conversation soon switched to our looming midterms. Hell Week as it was referred to on campus. And it really was a hellacious week because after you got done taking the exams, you still had classes to attend and homework to turn in. Finals week was better. When you finished finals, you were done.

I’ve got organic chemistry lab on Tuesday, which doesn’t have a test. Every one of my midterms is scheduled for Wednesday or Friday. It’s going to be crammed.

Adam drummed his fingers on the table. I was pretty proud of myself for recognizing the action as a sign that he was thinking. Mine are split evenly across the week. My foreign language requires tutoring. He pretended to gag.

Engineering doesn’t have a language require…

Maurice plopped onto the bench seat beside me. Hello lovebirds. What song are you singing? He grinned and sipped his drink.

I rolled my eyes. Maurice had been hinting that he wanted to meet Adam for weeks now. Of course, the moment he catches me outside of Leach, he would simply ambush me. Adam, this is Maurice, aka Leach’s gossip mongrel.

Maurice ignored Adam’s extended hand. Hmm, she’s not giving you the whole picture, Eye-candy.

I glared at Maurice aghast at the nickname he had assigned to Adam. It was fine for me to think of Adam as a hot hunk, but I did not want Maurice commenting on his appearance.

In typical Maurice fashion, he ignored my outrage. Instead he said, I’m more like the resident watch dog. I know everything.

Um, it’s nice to meet you, Adam said. His brows rose as he took in Maurice’s large smile and my horrified expression.

Oh, yes, nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah. Maurice waved a hand around indicating his real interest level in casual chitchat. So, Edee’s been mum on all the details…

This was going from bad to awful fast. Knowing drastic action was required, I scooted out of the booth nearly tripping in my haste. It’s time we got going. Midterms to study for…

Sure it was lame. Neither of them bought it. Maurice leveled a pointed look at Adam, and without looking at me, he said, Edee needs to use the ladies before you go. Right girl?

Adam assessed the rather large man sitting across from him. Maurice, because of his tendency to wear pastel plaid shorts and a matching polo, generally left people reeling. He looked like a smoothed faced, dark skinned golfer dressed by his grandmother. I mean how scary can such a person be, right? But then he would open his mouth and subject the unwary to a blistering assessment.

I was swimming in anxiety as Adam, with an expressionless face, calmly replied, It’s ok. I’ll wait.

They had backed me into a corner. If I stayed, it meant I was babying Adam. While leaving Adam alone with Maurice might be an epically bad idea, I could not see a way around it. Not when Adam had already agreed.

I walked away. At the restroom door I glanced back; both men watched me. Adam looked resolute which gave me hope that he would still be there when I came out.

In the bathroom, a dinky two-stalled place, I paced, too worried to pee. The door swung open and Harper walked in. With a single look, she demanded, Are you hiding in here? She entered the smaller stall while continuing to speak. I’m not on break so tell me fast.

Maurice is talking to Adam.

About?

No idea. That’s what worries me. I checked my non-existent makeup in the mirror. My worried blue eyes stared out above checks dusted with freckles. Running over the summer had given me a tan that had not paled yet.

A toilet flushed and Harper emerged to wash her hands. I’m sure it’s nothing. Maurice means well.

I’m sure he does but...

But you think he’s going to scare Adam off? Harper cranked the paper towel dispenser. A shredded scrap barely big enough to dry a finger poked out. She began tugging on the scrap.

I walked over and twisted the side dial to release more. Right.

Harper ripped off a nearly acceptable amount of paper towel. I doubt you have anything to worry about. Adam’s the real thing. Just act like nothing happened.

I sighed, and the thought, Easier said than done, filtered through my mind. Harper gave me a quick hug then pushed me out of the bathroom ahead of her. I dragged in a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and headed back.

Reaching the table I decided to sit beside Adam. It was a show of preference on my part. Adam slid his arm across my shoulders without hesitating. They were discussing SGU’s abysmal chances for a football championship. I sensed this topic was a load of bull.

A guy I had seen several times at Leach walked up to our booth. Seeing him, Maurice rose to leave. Adam stopped him by saying, We’re leaving. Why don’t you take our booth?

Maurice’s smile became genuine. Many thanks. This is Larry. Larry meet Edee, a co-resident of mine, and her boy, Adam.

I had barely relaxed when he introduced us that way. Since I seemed to be the only one annoyed, I opted to ignore Maurice’s wink and walk away.

Leaving Baker’s Dozen, Adam and I waved at Harper whose newly cut bangs billowed up in a blast of steam. She smiled, but kept working.

At the last moment, as Adam was turning away to open the door, Harper caught my eye and nodded her head toward the guy standing to her left. I looked quickly, gave a thumbs up, and followed Adam out the door. Now I knew why she had been mum about her love life for weeks—a dead giveaway that she had a crush on someone.

Outside Adam wrapped his hand around mine. Maurice has got to be the weirdest papa bear I’ve ever heard of.

I know. I’m sorry, I sighed.

It’s cool. He grilled me about my intentions. Adam wiggled his brows at me. Then he grinned, and added, And I don’t mean in politically polite terms.

I stopped short unsure if I wanted to hang my head or lecture Maurice. Adam, however, pulled me into a crushing hug. I’m glad your friends care. Kinda nice to know they agree with me.

I only nodded as my thoughts swirled. If my friends had been this vocal last year, would I have dated John? Would I have put myself in a position where I trusted someone who did not care about me and saw me as an object to use?

Or should I kill Maurice?

I would have commented, but Adam asked, How bad is it that he volunteered me for the haunted house?

I winced. A low, Ohhhh, was all I got out.

That good, huh? Adam asked. He grinned at me not understanding how much he had walked into.

Well, it depends. Haunted House is a Leach tradition. Maurice takes it seriously. Like over the top, super freaky serious. It’s normally restricted to Leach residents, so its something of an honor he asked you.

An honor?

Yes, you’re now officially an indentured servant.

Indentured servant?

Pretty much. Setup is hard, and the nights are long.

Guess I’m up for it. At least I’ll get to see you. The way he talked, it was agree to help or never see you again.

I gasped at Maurice’s panache. Adam laughed then asked, So, how did you met Maurice?

The thought of our