Read Online Sweet Chemistry by September Roberts - Free Book Online

to giggle. “I guess that’s why he’s settled on Mark, because he can’t have me.” Her laughter stopped as soon as it had started. “Is that why you were so mad?”
    “When was I mad?” James shrugged. Maybe she wouldn’t remember.
    Kate lifted a finger for each point she made. “Addiction, lab, and study group.” She frowned. “That’s what you meant when you said, ‘you’re one to talk.’ You thought I was with him, didn’t you? You thought I cheated on Tim that night with you.”
    “Yes.” His stomach sank. Why did she have to ask all the wrong questions?
    Her jaw clenched and she snatched the towel to dry her hands off before she started packing her things. “You thought I would do that?” She stopped and looked at him. “All this time, that’s what you’ve been thinking about me?”
    James wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. He’d spent the last seven weeks wallowing in a self-inflicted pool of pity and depression over a misunderstanding, and now it was going to ruin a perfectly good moment.
    “I shouldn’t be here.” She grabbed her bag and rushed to the door. He listened through the open door as her feet slapped against the stairs.
    James closed the door and let the door support his body. “Fuck!”
    When he realized she left her hoodie, he thought about calling her to let her know before she got too far. And then he buried his face in the material for the second time that night. An image of her wiggling out of it popped into his head. When she pulled it off, her tank top inched up, exposing her lean stomach. He had hoped things would go better, and now the only physical connection he had to her was a fleecy piece of clothing, and he wasn’t ready to let it go.
    He sat on the edge of his made bed and let out a bitter laugh. When he cleaned his apartment before she got there, he made his bed with some deluded fantasy about the two of them. In his fantasy, he convinced her she should be with him, not Tim. In reality, he admitted he thought she was a cheater and offended her. Things had not gone as planned.
    * * * *
    “You made these?” Jeff mumbled with a mouth full of lemon bars. “ You ? My kitchen-phobic brother?”
    “I’m not afraid of the kitchen. I wasn’t interested.” James looked away. “I may have forgotten to mention Kate came over and helped me.”
    “Oh, the truth comes out.” Jeff laughed and stuffed another one in his mouth.
    “They’re really good. Thanks for bringing them to dinner.” Heather smiled at him. “Was it a date?”
    James shook his head. “I wish. She’s all business around me.”
    “Wait, wait, wait. I thought she was with what’s-his-name. Your other student .”
    “I see what you’re doing, Jeff. I haven’t forgotten she’s my student, and I was wrong about Tim. Tim’s gay.”
    Heather nodded her head. “So, you finally asked her?”
    “No, he texted her while we were baking, and blew her off to be with his boyfriend. I feel like such an ass.” James let his head fall on the table.
    “You are an ass. A repugnant one.” Jeff laughed as he quoted James from several weeks ago.
    “Thanks a lot.”
    “Well? What happened?” Jeff asked.
    “She figured out I thought she had cheated on Tim with me. She was so mad, and then she left.” His words echoed off the table, sounding just as hollow as he was.
    Heather patted his shoulder and clicked her tongue. “Oh James.”
    Jeff nudged his shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing for Halloween? A buddy of mine is throwing a party next weekend. You make a great pirate.”
    James shrugged and gave his brother a weak smile. “I’ll probably be grading.”
    “You should go out. Staying in that lonely apartment isn’t good for you.”
    * * * *
    There were lots of things that weren’t good for James, and thinking about Kate on Monday was one of them. He had her hoodie folded on the edge of his desk and it pained him to give it back.
    He paced his office for five minutes after class before