jason
The moment I saw him,everything in my body went a little feral.
My heart jumped so hard it felt like it slammed into my ribs and bounced. Heat rushed up my neck, ears burning, scalp tingling like I’d just been called on in class without warning. For half a second, I forgot where I was, forgot the exam booklet open in front of me, and forgot the clock ticking down on the wall.
Bennet was here.
He had slipped in quietly and took a seat at the back like it was the most natural thing in the world to be there. Like of course he would be.
The knot that had been twisting tighter in my chest all morning loosened all at once. Relief hit me so hard I had to swallow to keep my breath steady. I felt taller and stronger and ridiculously invincible, like I could muscle my way through anything with him in the room.
I made myself look back down at the paper.
Get it together.
This wasn’t the time to spiral in a good direction either. I’d already done enough damage blurting out things I should have taken slower, wrapped better, and protected from my own mouth. I always did that. I always said the big thing too fast and then watched people flinch like I’d thrown something at them.
But Bennet had still shown up.
That had to mean something.
Even if he didn’t feel the same way. Even if he just cared because he was kind and loyal and incapable of half-assing things. Even if I was still just his tutoring project or his almost something.
He was here.
I focused.
Stats came back into shape. Not perfectly, but well enough. I recognized patterns. I remembered his voice in my head, calm and precise, nudging me toward the right approach. Then I remembered him naked on my bed, and it jolted my memory even better. I worked through problems slowly, methodically, checking myself like he’d taught me.
Confidence crept in sideways.
When I reached the last page, I didn’t feel panicked. I felt done.
I looked up at the clock. Still time left. Plenty of people were still writing.
I stood.
My chair scraped softly as I gathered my things andwalked to the front, exam paper steady in my hands. Professor Colby looked up, eyebrow lifting. “You’re finished?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. “Pretty sure.”
He glanced at the paper, then back at me. “You don’t want a few more minutes to review your answers?”
I smiled despite myself. “I’ve crossed all my i’s and dotted all my t’s.”
His mouth twitched like that physically hurt him, but he took the paper anyway. “Very well.”
As I turned, my eyes went instinctively to the back of the room.
The seat where Bennet had been was empty.
I caught sight of him at the door instead, already slipping out, careful and quiet. For a second, something sank in my chest. Not disappointment exactly. Just the sharp awareness that I hadn’t gotten to look at him again.
I packed up the rest of my things and headed after him, heart still thudding, hope and fear tangled so tight I couldn’t tell them apart.
My chest grew tighter the closer I got to the door. I nearly paused there, but my hand reached and grabbed the doorknob, pulling the door open to reveal Bennet standing in the hallway, bathed in the morning sunlight pouring in from the windows to the left.
He blinked and tucked his hands deep into the pockets of his pants, gazing at me and at the door as I shut it behind me.