“You’re quite impressive. All of you are, but you especially. Twenty years old and so ambitious. When I was twenty, my summer was spent as a cart girl at the local country club, trying to get the attention of the cute boys.”
“No, you didn’t. You were rally
ing students to protest against the mistreatment of children in—” I snap my mouth shut, realizing I sound like a stalker.
She throws her head back and laughs. “That was when I was twenty-one, but I’m honored you’ve done your research.”
Blush creeps up my cheeks. “Please don’t think I’m a crazy fan girl. I really admire your work. My best friend, Quinn, does, too.”
“Quinn Jackson, right?”
I nod.
“Well, I admire your work as well. When Henry–Professor Grant —asked me to take on a group, I only agreed if I could hand pick my team.”
“You picked me?” my voice squeaks.
“Sure did.”
“W-w-why?”
“Several reasons.” She doesn’t elaborate further. “So let’s wrap this up and have a birthday celebration.”
I follow her out and send a quick text to Bryce.
Can’t wait to tell you about my day. Love you!
The phone rings, and I scramble over the bed to reach it. The time reads three-thirty am, which is five-thirty Bryce’s time. We discovered last week that this is the best time to catch each other if we want to talk at all. Otherwise, it’s a series of missed calls, messages, or texts.
“Hello,” I whisper.
“Hey, babe. How was your birthday?”
“Did you see the video I sent?”
“Oh, yeah.” His voice goes tight.
“Is something wrong?”
“Who was that guy?”
“Eli?”
“Is that his name?” Bitterness is evident in his tone.
“Are you jealous of Eli?”
“Considering he was holding your hand, yes. You couldn’t have missed the way he was looking at you.”
“He’s a diver from the UK. I told you about meeting him.”
“I thought you were meeting a woman diver. How’d you get paired up with him?”
I roll over, curling into a ball. Even though Quinn has been cool about the early morning calls, I try to be as quiet as possible.
“Bryce, he’s harmless.”
He grumbles a few seconds and then sighs. “Can’t help it. Was there a need for him to hold your hand? Touch you at all?”