One & Only

Chapter Seven

SEVEN

I was reviewing my notes before Biotransport when a shadow fell across my desk. I looked up to see a female student I recognized from our first class staring down at me. “Tess McMann, right? I’m Elaine Sun.”

“Nice to meet you.” I shook the girl’s hand, and she slid into the seat beside me. Dylan’s seat, I thought to myself for a split second before I banished the notion from my brain for all time. Nothing here was Dylan’s.

“It’s good to see the proportion of women in this department increasing,” Elaine said. Her dark hair was twisted into a messy bun, and strands of magenta reached back from each temple. “Even one makes a huge difference around here.”

“Well,” I said with a sheepish shrug, “I’m glad to help in any way I can.”

“What are your plans for the symposium?” she asked abruptly.

I blinked. “I’m—not quite sure yet. I think Dylan Kingsley—”

“Dylan Kingsley?” she sneered. “Figures. You’ve been here for a day, and he’s already got his claws in the fresh meat.”

“Pardon me?” I asked.

“There aren’t enough girls here as is,” she said. “We should really stick together.”

I wanted to hear more of what she was saying about Dylan. He’d sounded genuine enough in his email. But I hadn’t seen the guy in two years, while Elaine had presumably been in several classes with him. Who knew what he was like these days better than she? And what did she mean by “fresh meat”?

“Nothing’s set in stone yet,” I tried. “I just told him I’d be happy to talk about potential—”

“And I’ll tell you one thing,” she said. “You won’t win unless you do biomed. Not at Canton.”

“I’m not doing biomed,” I said. “With or without Dylan. I’ve got an environmental concentration.”

She snorted now, so hard I was surprised snot didn’t spatter my textbook. “Well then, aren’t you two a perfect match.”

“A perfect match for what?” Dylan’s voice hovered above us. He was standing there, his stance casual, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Poaching my partner, Elaine?”

She rolled her eyes, swiped her things off the table, and stalked away. Dylan slid smoothly into the spot she’d vacated.

Nothing here is Dylan’s, I repeated to myself.

“What was that all about?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Elaine’s a sore loser. I beat her in the freshman year final project, and she’s never forgiven me.”

I pressed my lips together. Maybe I’d rushed into things last night, letting my anger at my dad fuel my response to Dylan. I shouldn’t commit to partnering with him. Not until I heard more about his ideas or got to know some of the other people in the class.

Not until I could be sure I was capable of working alongside him.

“She said you always preyed on fresh meat.” I eyed him carefully. “What does she mean by that?”

He looked amused. “She did? I have no idea what she means by ‘always,’ but she’s smart. She probably figures that if I snatched you up this quickly, I have secret info about how good you are.” He leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “And of course, she’s right. I do have secret info about how good you are.”