the Romeo + Juliet Experiment

Chapter Five: Jess

"The friar had a good point about how ungrateful Romeo was about the whole thing," I said to Ryan when we stopped for a break on Wednesday morning.

"He was probably a millennial," he replied into his cup as he took a drink.

I barely kept in an undignified snort. It still came out as a smile. A smile I was having trouble wiping off my face around him. The kind I didn't know I was wearing until I was wondering how long I'd been wearing it.

"Is it just me, or does Romeo kinda have a Byron thing going on?" he continued.

I fiddled with my pen. "Was it the melodrama that gave it away?"

"He was Byron before it was cool," he delivered seamlessly deadpan.

There was no keeping that snort in. "What do you know about Byron anyway?"

"We studied him last year."

I grinned. "Byron and staging 'Romeo and Juliet'. Watch out, I'll think you're cultured in a second."

"Be merciful, say death," he quipped.

"Romeo's not the only Byron-wannabe, I see," I laughed.

He shrugged. "Teenagers be crazy."

"A thousand times, yes."

He spluttered what I could only assume was a suppressed laugh. He did a far better job at it than me.

He seemed to do a lot of things better than me. He oozed the kind of confidence I wished I had. He gave off a devil may care attitude I wanted for my own. He was witty and, dare I say it, charming. And he actually seemed intelligent. I wasn't quite sure what to do with all of that except think that I'd been truly #blessed with my partner for the week.

A sentiment Norah wasn't sharing.

"Okay. So, Connor can bite me," she huffed as she sat across from me with a biscuit she bit into angrily.

I looked up at her and my eyebrow rose. "And what's the status on his wanting to do that?"

Ryan's friends, Mark and Ben, sat down in front of him and started talking about their own stuff.

"Like I care," Norah replied. "All he wants to do is play cricket and try to kiss me."

I snuck a look at Ryan at the mention of kisses.

Neither of us had said anything about it that morning and I hadn't said anything to my friends. The way he was talking with his friends made me think he either hadn't heard Norah or he was totally unfazed by the fact we'd kissed.

Which was surely a good thing. Right?

I mean, I was also unfazed that we'd kissed.

I just kept finding my eyes on his lips and thinking about doing it again. Every minute or so.

Tibby arrived with Danny and they were laughing. Tibby even lay her hand on his arm. He noticeably puffed up. Oh boy. I'd seen this dance a million times and it never ended well.

"Here's trouble," I muttered as they sat down with us. I kicked my chin at Norah. "Where's your Romeo?"

"Whereforart my Romeo, indeed?" she snorted. "Who cares. This assignment sucks."

I felt Ryan lean over, his shoulder pressing against mine. "I think you'll find–"

I nudged him, swinging my head so my lips were near his ear. "She knows. She's trying to be funny," I whispered.

He moved his lips to my ear, his hand going to my back. "Funnier if it was right."

"Funny enough."