else.”
Marc blinked at her with incomprehension.
“From Everett’s list,” Allie explained.
Marc chuckled and started for the dormitory’s door.
“It really means a lot to you, this experiment.”
“I guess you could say it’s my qualifying game.”
Allie fell into step beside him, her gaze on their feet. “I need every boost I
can get, to get into one of the top programs. I’m just lucky that Doctor
Kaitech chose me to assist with the study. If I can get my name on a publication,
it’ll help me file my applications next fall. And besides that, it’s just
really interesting.” She reached to catch the door when Marc got it open and
held it out for her, motioning him through first so she could offer a more
genuine smile up at him. “Getting such comprehensive data on a specimen with
fine-tuned health, it’s a real opportunity.”
“I don’t know that I’m so fine a specimen.”
“You are.”
Marc clamored into the stairs ahead of her without
further comment, but he seemed to be suppressing a smile instead of simply
being unsmiling. “I’m glad to be advancing the field of medical science,” Marc
said as he paused on the landing for his floor.
Leaning on the door’s half-open edge, he looked
between his hall and the stairs that led upward to hers. “You were going to go
meet Violet,” he said more subdued.
“Yeah.” Allie ground to a halt, rocking on her
feet.
Marc’s brow shaped silent question.
In that moment, Allie wanted nothing more than to
find a reason to go through the door with him. All she found was a smile to
paste onto her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Have a good night, Allie.”
“You, too.” It was too late. “Thank you, Marc.” She
made herself turn, then, and not look back while she clomped up the stairs to
the top floor.
10
The next day Violet was busy with
the PR event she had helped organize, which was good because Allie needed some
space to get over the embarrassment and confusion of the previous night. With
her time off, Allie stuffed her bags with her materials and laptop so that she
could escape to the nearby university. Quietly studying for the MCAT was much
preferable to the risk of seeing Blake and having to explain why she ran away
from him. Worse would be getting caught in conversation with Marc. The way she
felt around him … she didn’t trust herself at all.
As the week started, the grueling schedule of the
water polo team’s camp thankfully prevented much awkwardness even though she
was still shadowing Lindsey. The guys woke up early to start their first pool
session before day lit the sky. After a short break for lunch they had dryland
training in the gym, and following that they assembled again at the pool for
their second big workout.
Allie was due to collect another sample set from
Marc after his practice. He was even quieter than she had come to expect while
he sat in the office chair. She noticed him rubbing at the top of his shoulder
while she bustled about with her routine. When the team was in the water she
saw that he and Blake had been on opposite sides for the scrimmage and had
gotten into it pretty bad. She bit her tongue against the impulse to explain
away the text message from the other night.
Her foolish guilt would have to be eased another
way. “I can book a massage appointment for you at the clinic,” Allie noted as
she secured the salivary sample brush into its little shipment vial.
“It’s fine.” Marc offered out his hand with his
wrist turned up for her, well used to all the steps of her protocol. He was a
quick learner. As he watched her fingers against his skin, his brow quirked.
“You do that, too?”
“The booking? Yeah.” Allie flickered a smile at
him. “Not the massage itself. Although after my time here, maybe I’m
considering that line of work.”
“I wouldn’t complain,” Marc let slip in reply.
Her imagination instantly went wild with thoughts
of running
Marc blinked at her with incomprehension.
“From Everett’s list,” Allie explained.
Marc chuckled and started for the dormitory’s door.
“It really means a lot to you, this experiment.”
“I guess you could say it’s my qualifying game.”
Allie fell into step beside him, her gaze on their feet. “I need every boost I
can get, to get into one of the top programs. I’m just lucky that Doctor
Kaitech chose me to assist with the study. If I can get my name on a publication,
it’ll help me file my applications next fall. And besides that, it’s just
really interesting.” She reached to catch the door when Marc got it open and
held it out for her, motioning him through first so she could offer a more
genuine smile up at him. “Getting such comprehensive data on a specimen with
fine-tuned health, it’s a real opportunity.”
“I don’t know that I’m so fine a specimen.”
“You are.”
Marc clamored into the stairs ahead of her without
further comment, but he seemed to be suppressing a smile instead of simply
being unsmiling. “I’m glad to be advancing the field of medical science,” Marc
said as he paused on the landing for his floor.
Leaning on the door’s half-open edge, he looked
between his hall and the stairs that led upward to hers. “You were going to go
meet Violet,” he said more subdued.
“Yeah.” Allie ground to a halt, rocking on her
feet.
Marc’s brow shaped silent question.
In that moment, Allie wanted nothing more than to
find a reason to go through the door with him. All she found was a smile to
paste onto her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Have a good night, Allie.”
“You, too.” It was too late. “Thank you, Marc.” She
made herself turn, then, and not look back while she clomped up the stairs to
the top floor.
10
The next day Violet was busy with
the PR event she had helped organize, which was good because Allie needed some
space to get over the embarrassment and confusion of the previous night. With
her time off, Allie stuffed her bags with her materials and laptop so that she
could escape to the nearby university. Quietly studying for the MCAT was much
preferable to the risk of seeing Blake and having to explain why she ran away
from him. Worse would be getting caught in conversation with Marc. The way she
felt around him … she didn’t trust herself at all.
As the week started, the grueling schedule of the
water polo team’s camp thankfully prevented much awkwardness even though she
was still shadowing Lindsey. The guys woke up early to start their first pool
session before day lit the sky. After a short break for lunch they had dryland
training in the gym, and following that they assembled again at the pool for
their second big workout.
Allie was due to collect another sample set from
Marc after his practice. He was even quieter than she had come to expect while
he sat in the office chair. She noticed him rubbing at the top of his shoulder
while she bustled about with her routine. When the team was in the water she
saw that he and Blake had been on opposite sides for the scrimmage and had
gotten into it pretty bad. She bit her tongue against the impulse to explain
away the text message from the other night.
Her foolish guilt would have to be eased another
way. “I can book a massage appointment for you at the clinic,” Allie noted as
she secured the salivary sample brush into its little shipment vial.
“It’s fine.” Marc offered out his hand with his
wrist turned up for her, well used to all the steps of her protocol. He was a
quick learner. As he watched her fingers against his skin, his brow quirked.
“You do that, too?”
“The booking? Yeah.” Allie flickered a smile at
him. “Not the massage itself. Although after my time here, maybe I’m
considering that line of work.”
“I wouldn’t complain,” Marc let slip in reply.
Her imagination instantly went wild with thoughts
of running
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