Stuck With Me - Melissa Brown Page 0,64

episodes of The Office, I drifted to sleep, hoping the morning would bring even the tiniest sliver of relief…

Spoiler alert: It didn’t.

Chapter 18

LYRA

Dev was being weird.

Yesterday, I’d woken up on freaking cloud nine. Our kiss was ethereal and his touch lingered on my lips. I couldn’t wait to see him again, to kiss him again and to spend more time together. I was chomping at the bit.

All day yesterday, we’d texted throughout the day. He texted me during his morning break and again at lunch. He texted a few times from his desk, and I’d laughed when he sent me a picture of his office.

-That’s the cleanest office I’ve ever seen.

-Is that a problem?

-I mean, I knew you were a neat freak, but wow!

-The only thing dirty are my thoughts.

-Nice! I thought everyone’s desks were as messy as mine. I’m rethinking that now…

-I can’t see your desk then…EVER.

-What? Will you have a panic attack or something?

-You laugh, but yes.

-Well, shit. If you ever come to the library, I’ll clean it, I promise.

-Thank God.

It was fun, it was light, it was…easy. Things with Dev had never been easy, and I was enjoying it to the fullest. With every flirty text, I wanted him more. In fact, I was craving him in a way I’d never craved another person. It was surreal.

I knew he was going out with his friends that night and figured I’d probably hear from him when he got home. But I didn’t. And this morning, when I texted him, I didn’t get a response. Even after several hours. After our constant texting the day before, it gave me pause. Major pause.

It was a Friday morning, and I was trying really hard to play it cool. I refused to say anything to Maren, because knowing my best friend, she’d talk to Peter. She’d try to fix it. And I didn’t want that. If things were going to happen with Dev, they had to happen naturally.

Did his friends try to talk him out of it?

That was the thought that I couldn’t escape all morning as I shelved reference materials. Admittedly, I didn’t know Scott very well, but I couldn’t think of any reason that Peter would discourage Dev from being with me. If anything, it would create built-in double dates for Maren and him.

You’re overthinking this, Lyra.

And that was the other side of the coin. It was perfectly plausible that he got home late and was swamped with work that morning. Case closed. No big deal.

But something just felt off, and I couldn’t shut off that part of my brain. Just when I was contemplating checking my phone for the fifth time that morning, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face entering the library.

Savita.

I had no intention of pumping her for information. That just wasn’t me. But I was happy to help her with her project if she asked. It’d be a good distraction from the torture my own brain was putting me through.

“Lyra!” She waved as she approached.

“Hey, how’s the project going?”

“Good, these books were perfect. I’m hoping you can help me find some more?” She said it like a question and I smiled.

“Of course, just let me put a few more of these on the shelf and I’ll be right with you.”

“No biggie.”

A text notification went off and my heart fluttered. Not wanting to seem unprofessional, I turned my back to Savita, blocking my body with a large atlas. No text. My heart sank.

“Oh my God,” Savita muttered under her breath as she looked down at her phone. “He’s the biggest pain in the ass.”

“Boyfriend trouble?” I asked.

“Ugh! No, my brother.”

Adrenaline rushed into my belly. Dev was texting her. I hadn’t heard from him, but he was texting his little sister.

Damn it.

Clearing my throat, I gave a half smile. “Oh, why this time?”

“He’s got the flu, and he expects me to drop everything and take care of him.”

“He has the flu?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “And he’s such a baby.”

“I had no idea he was even coming down with something.”

“That doesn’t surprise me…at all.”

Taken aback, I asked, “What do you mean you aren’t surprised?”

“He always gets weird when he’s sick. He thinks it makes him seem weak or something.”

“That’s ridiculous. Everyone gets sick. It’s just part of being human.”

“I know! When he was with Trupti, she wasn’t allowed near him when he was sick. Only my mom and my brother. But since they’re out town, I’m the chosen one.” She rolled her