Ellie Sandberg would love to reinvent herself. When she earns a spot at an elite boarding school for young inventors, it seems like the perfect opportunity: A summer away from home, away from her overprotective parents, and away from the hopeless cr...
The answer is no. I don't know Maddox well enough to trust him. But more worrisome than that, I don't trust myself when he's around. How am I supposed to judge his trustworthiness, when his hands are on my shoulders... when I can feel his body heat inches from my back...
Honestly, how am I supposed to think at all when he transforms my brain into a quivering puddle of lust-flavored jello juice every time we have a work session?
Work.
Session.
That's what this is supposed to be. Remember? I give my head a tiny shake, sloshing around the jello juice until it coalesces into a semi-solid state.
Beta testing.
Maker Fair.
Project.
Partners.
Work session.
That's why Maddox brought me up here. To work. Isn't that what I wanted? A partner who shouldered half the workload?
I try to turn my head, but he stops me. "Don't peek!" he commands in a rushed whisper, leaning so close that his visor clunks against the back of my head. "You have to back up toward a hazard without looking at it. That's the test!"
Hazard.
Hazardous terrain.
I feel like someone warned me about that not too long ago. For the life of me, I can't remember when or why or who. I can't remember much of anything when Maddox's lips are a hair's breadth from my earlobe.
I squeeze my eyes closed. Focus Ellie.Beta testing. Hazardous terrain. "Wait, so we're testing the module I wrote last night? It's already running?"
"Not yet. I'm implementing it now." His hands drop from my shoulders to my elbows as I wait, but he doesn't release his hold on me. Why not? Maybe his fingertips like my arms as much as my arms like his fingertips... Or maybe he doesn't trust me not to turn around.
"OK," he says at last. "Did you get an admin request?"
I open my mouth to say no, when the notification flashes before my eyes.
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I almost forgot I was wearing my visor. I blink at the Continue button, and hold my breath.
My heart is doing weird things inside my rib cage. Adrenaline has taken hold. The feeling is not entirely due to Maddox and the way his palms felt when he ran them down my arms just now, warm and feathery against my skin. There's also the rush of anticipation from testing a piece of code for the first time... and the cringe-inducing, chlorine-scented memory of what happened the last time I didn't look where I was going in this visor...
