Part 14 (2/2)

”I... I can't.”

”Come on, Brynn!” Mark was getting pumped up just thinking about it, I could tell. ”He said our work was interesting.”

”I know,” I said. ”It's just tomorrow I had plans to go see my mom.” I began to tear up just thinking about it. For the last week and a half, I had let everything else get in the way of the real reason I was in Hungary. Guilt washed over me as I thought about all of the lame excuses I had leaned on to prevent my going.

”Oh,” Mark said. His face drew down into a serious expression. ”Of course. I'm sorry, Brynn.” Mark put his arm around me and hugged me sideways.

”Hey, whatever,” I said, leaning into him. ”No big deal.”

”I'll take copious notes,” Mark said. ”Whatever he says, I'll write down, and I promise I won't do any more work until you're there.”

”Thanks,” I said. ”I owe you.”

I always seemed to owe Mark. Especially once in college, especially after what happened at that party, I already owed Mark big time.

Last year I had dared to venture out to a party at one of the dorms on campus. I danced and drank with Shannon and had fun, really I did. But then Shannon left and I had to go to the bathroom. Somehow I ended up in the back courtyard of the dorm, where off in the bushes a group of stoners pa.s.sed around a pipe. I turned to leave them alone, but as I went back through the doorway some frat guy caught me by the arm and pulled me through the open door of a dorm room.

”Hey!” I said.

”Hey, you,” the guy said. ”You look like you might want to have some fun.”

”Sorry, I'm just lost,” I said, and tried to push my way out. He blocked my way with his arm and grabbed my a.s.s with his hand. I tried to slap him off of me, but he was too strong, and as I looked up into his eyes I realized what he wanted. Opening my mouth to scream, I kicked out but he pressed his mouth down on mine, stifling the noise. His mouth tasted like beer and cigarettes, and I kicked out with my legs, unable to get out of his grip.

”Brynn?” Mark was in the doorway, his eyes wide. The frat guy loosened his grip except for one hand that still held me tight around the wrist. I tried to speak, but my mouth was so dry that all I could do was cough. Apart from a couple of cla.s.ses, I didn't really know Mark back then. We had worked together on one project for linear algebra, that was it.

Mark took in the scene quickly and must have realized what was going on. ”Everybody's waiting for you to go out.” He turned to the frat guy, whose eyes were glazed with alcohol and hate. ”Come on.”

”Okay, yeah, let's go,” I said, but the guy didn't let me go.

”We were just having some fun,” the guy said. He started to close the door, but Mark stepped forward and blocked the door with his foot.

”Her friends are waiting,” he said firmly. The guy looked at him like he wanted to kill him, and he probably could have. He stood at least a foot taller than Mark, and his arms felt like pure muscle, the way his hand circled my wrist like iron shackles. I could tell Mark was scared, but he stood fast.

”Let me go!” I cried out finally, and the guy shoved me out the door and into Mark.

”Fata.s.s b.i.t.c.h,” he mumbled.

”What did you say?” Mark stepped between me and the guy.

”It's okay, Mark, let's go.” I pulled frantically on his arm. The party-and safety-beckoned just down the hallway. ”Please, let's just get out of here.”

”You heard the c.u.n.t,” the guy said. ”f.u.c.k off.”

If I hadn't pulled Mark two steps away, he would have swung at the guy, I'm certain. But I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me. The door slammed and we walked down the hallway.

”You okay?” Mark said. His voice trembled.

”Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks,” I said.

He had tried to convince me to report the guy, and eventually I had gone to one of the deans and filled out a form. I didn't hear what happened with the guy, and I never saw him again. But the fact that Mark had stepped forward and stood up to a guy almost twice his size-that was something. Not a lot of people would do that, especially for a girl they barely knew.

I snapped out of my thoughts as Mark was finis.h.i.+ng a sentence. ”...see what happens?” He was looking up at me eagerly, his dark eyes sparkling.

”Sorry,” I said. ”What was that?”

”Do you want to try it as an inverse function, the way the a.s.sistant was showing us? We could see what happens when we try it backwards.”

”Huh,” I said. ”Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe just a couple more minutes. I'm pretty tired.”

”Me, too,” Mark said, although he seemed buoyed up with enthusiasm now that Eliot had talked with us about the problem.

I bent over to the page and got through the first part of the proof without any trouble, then got to the hard section. It took some manipulation, but eventually I got everything reduced to a simple two-part solution. No way, I thought. Hope rose up in me as I double checked all my work to make sure it was right. I couldn't get excited about this. Not yet, not until Mark had seen it.

”Hey, Mark,” I said. ”Check this out.”

He leaned over to see my page.

”How did you get-wait, what? Holy s.h.i.+t, Brynn!” He pushed back his chair and stood up, the paper held inches away from his nose. ”No way!”

”Check to make sure it's right, first,” I said, but he was already pulling me up into a bear hug, a huge grin on his face. I couldn't help but laugh, he was so excited.

”Of course it's right,” he said. ”Wow!”

”It's just the first part,” I said, pulling back slightly.

”The part we were stuck on! You're amazing!” He looked at the paper again, his eyes tracking each line. I saw him pause on the step where I had manipulated the equation into a solution. Tossing the page down on the table, he shook his head in wonder. He turned to me and placed his hands on my cheeks. His fingers felt warm against my skin.

”You. Are. Amazing,” he said, and kissed me.

At first I was too startled to say a word, and I froze under his embrace. His lips pressed against mine, insistent, and I was shocked to find myself responding to his kiss. My body began to lean forward just as Mark pulled back. His face was filled with joy.

”Amazing,” he repeated, but now his eyes darted back and forth to mine, searching me for an answer to the question he had just posed. We had been friends for so long, and I never realized that he might want anything more. Now I felt utterly confused, and my mouth dropped open, searching for the right words.

”Mark...” My words ran away from me. They always had.

A slight noise from the front of the library made me look up over Mark's shoulder.

Eliot was standing not thirty feet away, and from the looks of it, he had seen everything.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

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