Page 50 of Reckless Hearts

Marcus stretches out lazily on the grass. “You mean those pesky things that interrupt our sunbathing times?”

Saskia giggles. “That’s such a Marcus philosophy.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve got a foolproof study method. I sleep with my textbooks under my pillow and hope for knowledge to jump in my head by osmosis.”

“That explains so much about your academic performance,” Saskia says.

Marcus yawns. “Cs get degrees. Besides, I’m pretty sure when I’m in any job interviews, I’ll dazzle them with my wit and charm, and they won’t even bother looking at my academic record.”

“Only because they’ll all want to sleep with you,” Saskia replies.

“Well, someone’s got to keep the HR departments on their toes,” Marcus says.

I stand there awkwardly as Marcus and Saskia banter back and forth.

It’s the Saskia and Marcus show, as always. There’s never been any room for me.

Saskia finally decides to answer my question. “We’ve only got criminal left, which is in two days, so we’ll be doing some heavy cramming.”

Their friend chimes in, “I thought you two were going to Garett’s party tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll probably make an appearance at some point,” Saskia says. “Gotta keep our adoring public happy. Especially as they’re going to be deprived of our presence coming up.”

“When are you guys jetting off?” Maybe Emily asks.

“A week from today,” Saskia says with satisfaction. “It’s going to be epic.”

My stomach hollows.

I haven’t talked to Marcus about his impending trip to America with Saskia, mainly because I’ve tried to avoid mentioning Saskia. They’re only going for two months, but given Marcus and I have been hooking up two to three times a week, it feels like an impending desert of celibacy.

Marcus’s gaze flicks to mine. He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing, before quickly averting his gaze.

I fumble with my bag strap. “Uh, I should…um…library. Study. You know.”

I step backward, misjudge the curb, and nearly topple over.

“I’ll see you at dinner on Wednesday,” Saskia says.

“Yeah…sure. See you then.”

The sound of their easy laughter follows me as I retreat.

I spendthe rest of the day and the next stressing that running into Marcus and Saskia will make Marcus rethink the whole hookup thing we’ve got going on.

My brain keeps unhelpfully running through probability calculations about whether Marcus will contact me again.

Finally, by midday the next day, I can’t bear it anymore, so I text him.

Do you want some stress relief after all that exam studying?

Over the next few hours, I check my phone more than a lab rat hits the food lever in a Skinner box experiment.

Finally, finally, my phone beeps with a reply.

Sure thing. 7 tonight?

I almost break my phone in my eagerness to reply.