His lips trail down my neck, sending shivers all over.
"I love looking at you," he breathes, brushing the hair off my shoulders. "Will you let me look at you?"
My heart hammers, a wild thing seeking his. "Yes."
So he does. And I feel it. For a long...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
C A M I L A
"If the universe is constantly expanding, do you think we'll ever reach the end?"
"I think you have bigger problems, Jed, like memorizing the periodic table by tomorrow your physics final."
We're on the granite boulder path again, an unofficial meeting spot that's become ours by accident more than design—though Jed would disagree.
He hands me another stick of licorice from his pinkish boulder to mine, and in return, I slide him another triple chocolate protein bar from my bag. It's half frozen.
It's cold today, but it's helping me stay alert. Leaves crunch all around under a dusting of white snow, the trees are powdered and sprawling, a reminder we're all neck-deep into the semester with finals looming next.
More snow's on the way. It must be. The thing is, Jed and I don't mind the cold.
Jed goes back to studying the overcast sky, a slate of dark grey. His afro shifts in the wind, his bright yellow puffer coat rustling on his torso. "The periodic table is just the universe's way of organizing itself. Each element is a building block of stars. I've had it memorized since I was nine."
I narrow my eyes. "44th element."
"Ruthenium. Transition metal. Solid at room temperature." He wags a licorice stick at me like it's a teacher's pointer. "You cannot outsmart me, Camila."
"I'm aware. I was just wondering how much smarter you are."
"A decent amount. But you are intelligent in your own right."
"Well, thanks. I think."
The afternoon wanes, the sun somewhere or nowhere behind all the grey. It's so thick up there there's no way to tell.
Yesteday, I threw out my management application tailored to the not-so-shiny men at Fire Base. It hurt my heart to do it. Felt like faliure.
"Camila, you ever think about what mark you'll leave on the universe?"
I pause, papers raised in my hands. "I'm usually more worried about the here and now."
He's serious, though. I clear my throat and rethink the question, the licorice stick now a sweet, chewy mass in my mouth.
"Footprints," I mumble, shrugging a little. "Footprints in forests, on stairs, kitchen floors. I've always tried to keep them light." I tuck stray curls behind my ear, feeling the chill bite through my three sweaters. "Here's hoping mine don't turn into craters."
"Craters tell the stories of impact force. Craters are beautiful."
I shuffle my papers around as my hair does the same. I've been wearing it down, recently. It's like reclaiming one more piece of independence. And Noah likes it.
