He let out a sharp breath. “Sounds terrifying.”
I almost smiled.
Good.
Then I began explaining, pointing out things, breaking it down in the simplest way I could.
And for some reason, nothing else mattered at that point.
I didn’t care about the other people in that coffee shop, or what they were saying when murmurs grew. Or the stares I thought I felt.
Everything just narrowed to teaching chemistry to a Lakeview jock.
It felt…natural.
Then I paused at some point, tapping my pen on a reaction.
“This one,” I said. “What’s wrong with it?”
Dean squinted slightly, then leaned in.
My breath caught.
He was so close—too close, that everything hit me almost instantly.
The scent of his cologne, the warmth of his arm near mine, even the way his shoulder brushed mine when he reached fo
