Page 6 of Broken Dream (Steel Legends #3)

Chapter Five

Angie

My lips are stinging.

A good sting.

I’ve been kissed before.

Not as much as Sage, but I’ve had my share.

But this…

Jason’s not a college guy.

He’s a man.

A full-fledged doctor.

And he’s my anatomy professor.

Tabitha waves to me. “Angie, come here. Eli, Ralph, and I are going to get lunch. You should join us.”

I swallow. Lunch. Right. After thinking about cutting up dead bodies.

I’m supposed to eat now?

I nod, trying to find a smile for Tabitha. She’s oblivious, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, as if nothing has changed.

But everything has changed.

“Sure,” I manage to croak out. “Lunch sounds great.”

Great? My stomach churns at the thought of food.

Is this what it feels like to be in love? Or is this just horror at the realization that I’ve kissed a man who spends his days elbow-deep in cadavers? Who’s also the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on?

We make our way to the cafeteria. The smell of stale coffee and fried food hits me like a punch to the gut. Yeah. Not helping my nausea.

God, I need time alone.

Eli suggests we get a table first while Tabitha and Ralph get in line for food. We settle for one in the corner of the room, away from the buzzing crowd and the harsh cafeteria lights. I sink into the cold metal chair.

Eli is saying something about some new surgical technique he read about, but his voice fades into the background as my mind wanders back to Jason. His cool demeanor in the lab, his respect for the dead who gave their bodies to science, the way his eyes softened when he looked at me.

Tabitha returns, thrusting a tray of food onto the table. “Go ahead and get your lunch, Angie.”

“I’m not hungry,” I say as I look at the sandwich on her tray. It’s a little wilted.

“You have to eat, Angie.” She narrows her gaze to me but then turns to Ralph. “Oh! I haven’t introduced you two yet. Ralph. Angie.”

I look up at Ralph, getting my first real look at him.

He’s nice-looking enough, with dark hair, a strong jawline, and brown eyes.

He’s a little older than the rest of us—the slight silver at his temples and laugh lines around his eyes give him away.

I’d peg him for mid-thirties. He might even be older than Jason.

But he wouldn’t be the first person to start medical school in his thirties. Lots of people decide to shift careers around that point in their lives.

“Nice to meet you,” I eke out, offering Ralph my hand.

He eyes my hand a moment before taking it and limply shaking it. “Likewise.”

Ralph doesn’t appear to be a man of many words. At least it seems that way at first, until he starts talking about an article on forensic pathology he read, which I couldn’t care less about. I’m here, but I’m not here. My body is present, but my mind is miles away.

With Jason. Jason’s lips. His obvious arousal as he pressed into me.

I look around the cafeteria absentmindedly. Students, professors, some nurses and doctors from the adjoining hospital…

Everyone else’s life goes on as if I didn’t just kiss my professor.

Then I see him.

Jason.

He’s sitting alone at a table in the corner with his laptop open. When did he get here? How long was I wandering in bliss from his kiss before Tabitha grabbed me for lunch?

Jason takes a bite out of an apple and then shifts his gaze.

Our eyes meet.

An electric jolt runs through me, and everything else blurs. He raises his eyebrows and smiles. Not a big, flashy grin, but a small, private one. Just for me.

My heart stutters. I forget to breathe. Warmth floods my cheeks.

I rise. “I guess I’ll get some food.”

“Take this.” Eli shoves his salad at me. “It’s got arugula in it. Can’t stand the stuff.”

Oddly, Eli’s offering looks appealing enough to distract me. I start shoveling it into my mouth, not tasting it.

“Angie? Did you hear me?” Eli’s voice.

He said something?

“No,” I say quickly. “I mean, sorry. What was that again?”

Ralph raises an eyebrow. “You okay?”

I nod quickly. “Yeah. Just… I guess my mind wandered off. Anatomy class affected me a little more than I anticipated.”

Ralph narrows his eyes at me. “I’m sure.”

Not getting a great vibe from Ralph. But maybe it’s the age difference.

I look over at Eli. “What were you saying?”

He pastes a weird smile on his face. “Study group tonight. Pizza. The four of us.”

Study group?

I study alone.

I glance toward Jason.

The thought of being alone at home with my thoughts doesn’t seem so appealing. I won’t get any studying done if my head is wrapped around Dr. Jason Lansing.

So I nod to Eli and force a smile. “Sounds great!” I say a little too enthusiastically.

Tabitha looks up, clearly surprised at my eagerness. I meet her gaze and smile.

Ralph nods from across the table. “No anchovies,” he says.

Tabitha and Eli agree, so I don’t bother telling them that I personally love anchovies.

Sage says they’re disgusting, calls them stinky, hairy fish.

She won’t let me get them on one half of a pizza because she says they pollute the whole thing.

I’ve been getting my own personal pizzas since high school.

I risk another glance toward Jason, but he’s no longer at his table. I spot him by the cafeteria exit. He glances back over his shoulder. Our eyes meet once more.

Then he’s gone.

A sense of emptiness fills me, like he took something away with him when he left. My appetite vanishes, and I push my tray away. Eli’s discarded salad was disgusting anyway.

“Angie, are you sure you’re okay?” Ralph’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

I glance at him, taking in his furrowed eyebrows and concerned eyes. I force another smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. “Just not very hungry.”

“I swear this cafeteria food gets worse every day.” Eli grimaces at his half-finished sandwich. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to eat, Angie.”

I laugh weakly. Eli, of all of us, looks like he could stand to gain a few. He’s skinny as a rail.

“You’d think they might have more organic offerings,” Tabitha says. “I mean, what if I were vegan?”

“Are you?” Ralph asks.

“No, and it’s a good thing.” She thins her lips. “Though I don’t eat a lot of meat.”

I glance at her half-finished sandwich, which appears to be turkey.

I say nothing.

Eli starts talking about what we should study tonight, but my thoughts are consumed with Jason. His smile, his touch, his kiss—every single moment replays over and over in my mind.

“So what do you think, Angie?” Tabitha asks me.

I jerk back to reality. “Sorry. What?”

“For study group tonight. Pizza. What about your place?”

“My place?”

“I’ve got two roommates, Eli lives in his grandmother’s basement, and Ralph?—”

“I live in a tiny studio where I can barely turn around,” Ralph interrupts. “Where do you live?”

I guess it’s time to admit that I live in a gorgeous townhome a mile away from campus that I purchased on my own. Except not on my own. With my trust fund. It’s got three bedrooms and a tiny yard for my miniature schnauzer, Tillie.

And yeah, it will be perfect for our study group.

“Sure. My place is good.”

“Where is it?” Tabitha asks.

I rattle off the address.

Ralph widens his eyes. “That’s in Breckenridge Knoll.”

“Yeah,” I say.

“It’s a gated community,” he says.

My cheeks burn, but why should I be embarrassed that I live alone in a gated community?

“It is,” I say. “Is that a problem?”

He doesn’t respond.

“Sounds perfect,” Tabitha says. “What time should we pop by?”

I check my watch. “How about six? We can make the pizza our dinner.”

“Does that work for you guys?” Tabitha asks, nodding to Eli and Ralph.

“Sounds great.” From Eli.

Ralph stays silent.

I know the look on his face. I’ve seen it before.

He doesn’t like rich people. He thinks we’re all entitled snobs.

But he can think whatever the hell he wants. I got over those prejudices long ago.