It's Chloe.
Chloe: Dinner next Friday? Just the old ladies.
Me: Yeah, sounds good.
Chloe: Great. How are you settling in?
Me: Good. Trinity's keeping me busy.
Chloe: And Rush?
I stare at the message for a second, before typing back:
Me: What about him?
Chloe: Just making sure everything is okay.
Me: He's fine. We rarely speak.
Chloe: Okay. Let me know if you need anything.
Me: Will do.
I set my phone down and go back to my article, but I can't focus.
Rush has been on my mind more than I want to admit, and that's annoying.
He's just a guy doing his job, nothing more.
Except he's not just a guy. He's controlled violence wrapped in leather and ink, and that's exactly the kind of thing I should stay away from.
I've seen what happens when guys like that lose control. I grew up watching it.
But there's something about Rush that's different. He's not performing, he's not trying to intimidate; he just is.
And that makes him more dangerous than anyone else in that clubhouse.
I close my laptop and go to bed. I've got enough to worry about without adding Rush to the list.
Monday morning, I'm outside the science building when Aaron catches up to me.
"Hey Everly," he says, falling into step beside me.
"Hey."
"You figure out the protocol issue yet?"
"Working on it."
"I could help if you want. I had a similar problem last month."
"Thanks, but I've got it."
He doesn't take the hint. "You want to grab coffee later? Compare notes?"
I stop walking and turn to face him. "Aaron, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not interested."
"In coffee?"