One & Only (Canton) (7 page)

Of course Dylan set alarms for his class times. Otherwise he’d get so involved in his research he’d probably forget to breathe. He’d been just like that even back at Cornell.

He stood up, crumpling his lunch wrappers into a ball. “Can we put a pin in this for later? I want to hear all about your ideas. I just have to get to lab.”

I waved my hand at him. “Yeah, sure. Go on. I’ll get your book back to you by six.”

“Great!” He sprinted off, and I worked on getting my heartbeat back to normal.

***

My last class was at three, so I spent all the time in between trying to get the reading finished for Biotransport. After my stats class, I finished up the last few pages of the assignment in
Tissue Engineering
, then headed over to the Swift building to give Dylan his book. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from his place, but I prepared myself, just in case it included Hannah.

The door marked 202 opened a few seconds after my knock, and a wave of heavenly smells emerged. Something spicy and tomatoey. My mouth watered, and that was before my eyes even landed on Dylan, casual in a pair of low-slung gray sweatpants and a dark-red Canton U T-shirt. His dark hair was mussed and almost as floppy as it had been when we were teens. He must have taken his contacts out because the gunmetal-gray glasses were back—oh, boy, were they back.

“Hi,” I said, trying not to drool. Instead of vaccination, staring at him felt more like feeding an addiction. “Here’s your book, as promised.”

“Thanks.” He reached to take it and our fingers brushed. Sparks shot up my arm and the book clattered on the threshold.

As Dylan leaned over to pick it up, I got a glimpse at the apartment behind him. It was a studio-type setup, with wide windows, a modern, granite-topped kitchenette, lots of bookshelves, and a rumpled futon opened up into a platform bed.

“Oops.” He dusted off the cover, then caught me checking out his place. “Want to come in? I’m actually in the middle of cooking. It’s just pasta, but there’s plenty if you’re hungry.”

Yeah? And where would we sit? On that big old bed in the center of the room? “No thanks,” I trilled. “I have to go home to my mom, so…”

“Right, of course.” He shifted the book from hand-to-hand. “Listen, Tess, about what you were saying earlier…” He trailed off as if thinking better of his words. “Never mind. See you in class tomorrow.”

I waved and departed, though I wondered the whole way home what it was he’d wanted to say.

***

When my father came to visit, he always parked behind our apartment complex so no one spotted his car. It wasn’t a flashy car or anything, just a beige Lexus SUV, but he still didn’t want anyone to recognize it. He was there when I got home that evening.

I bore no illusions that Dad would be happy to see me. We dispensed with the usual pleasantries even more quickly than usual.

“I can’t believe you didn’t consult with me before making such a huge change,” Dad said, his voice filled with fatherly concern but his eyes doing that hard, flinty thing they always did when he was angrier than he was letting on. “Your mother tells me you’ve lost a whole semester in this transfer of yours. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir.” I was sitting across from him on the couch, my hands folded in my lap. Mom was in her usual armchair, perched on the edge and listening. She wore the same concerned expression as my father. Tattletale.

“And that doesn’t bother you?” he asked. “I thought you were a serious student, Tess. To give up a whole semester…” He clucked his tongue.

I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes. “I wasn’t going to graduate in eight terms at State, either,” I said. “I couldn’t get into half the prereq courses I needed. I hardly lost any credits in the transfer, but I have to catch up on prereqs. I was going to need another semester, at Canton or at State. This way, my final degree will say Canton on it, and that’s worth an extra term.”

“This scholarship of yours is going to cover it?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes.” Well, as much as it was covering anything. I wasn’t even going to be able to afford books pretty soon if I didn’t figure out an extra source of income. Like that symposium…

“What I’m most baffled by, Tess, is that you didn’t even think to ask me if this was all right. After all the money I invested in your schooling at State…you just threw it all away.”

My eyes shot up to meet his. I hadn’t asked him because I knew he’d say no. “I didn’t throw anything away. I made the best decision I could for my future.” What did he want me to do? Pay him back for eight credits’ worth of lost room and board at State?

He was shaking his head at me, his face a mask of disappointment. “And I can’t imagine what your professors think. That nice botanist who gave you a job in his lab—what was his name?”

“Dr. Stewart,” Mom supplied.

“Stewart. I can’t imagine he’s happy that you transferred. You might as well have said to his face that you don’t think he or his program is good enough for you.”

“As a matter of fact, Dr. Stewart wrote my recommendation.” I could have added a lot more, but I didn’t. Dr. Stewart was the one who’d told me about the Canton scholarship going vacant. He’d known it was where I wanted to be but that financial constraints kept me from attending, and there wasn’t much he could do for me in Bio-E from the botany department. We’d both agreed it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

“The whole thing just strikes me as so…ungrateful,” Dad said. “And all for what? A few extra lab hours? A microscope or two? You don’t know anyone at Canton—”

Au contraire, Dad. I know your daughter’s boyfriend
quite
well.

“And you aren’t likely to find another research assistant position, either. I’m guessing all those slots have already gone to their own students.”

“I am ‘their own student’,” I pointed out, irritated. “Transfers aren’t second-class citizens, Dad.”

“Sweetie,” my mother pleaded. “Give your father a break. He’s just trying to show you some cons that you may not have thought through entirely.”

My mother could take her peacekeeping efforts and shove them. I was an expert at examining my options, after years of trying to fit every choice in my life into my father’s rules. I’d made a pro and con list back when I’d gotten my scholarship acceptance. The only thing tripping me up at the moment was textbook prices, but I’d have that resolved soon enough. And I resented my father’s insistence that he be involved in the decision when I knew the only thing he’d want was for me to stay far, far away.

I wasn’t asking him for money—in fact, I was asking for
no
money—so he could just stay out of it. “It’s a little late for that,” I said instead. “I’m here at Canton. Bought and paid for, credits transferred, semester started. It’s too late.”

“Yes,” my father said. “You worked that out very neatly, young lady. You didn’t even tell me. Didn’t even ask for my advice about what was best for your future or what I, who’ve spent so much money on your education, might think about all this.” He stared at me for a moment more, then sighed. “I just can’t believe that after everything I’ve done for you, you’d act this devious. This selfish. And I honestly don’t see why you don’t think State was good enough for you.”

“I don’t know,” I snapped. “Why wasn’t it good enough for Hannah?”

It was as if all the air got sucked out of the room. My mother’s mouth dropped open.

“What did you just say to me?” His voice was nearly a whisper.

“She’s at Canton,” I said as tears began to burn my eyes. “I saw her there. So it’s fine for her to go, but not me?”

He stood up, tall, broad, big, like the Canton U football player he’d once been. His tone was still low, still dangerous. “Did you talk to her?”

“Of course not!” My voice caught on a sob as the tears began to roll down my cheeks. “I know the
rules
.” And I did. I’d always known them. But staying away from the Swifts shouldn’t mean staying away from everything else I wanted in my life.

I needed Canton. Hannah didn’t need anything.

He said nothing, but I felt his eyes on me. Abruptly, he turned. “We’ll finish this conversation later.” He headed for the door, and my mom followed after him, down the narrow halls of our apartment.

I just sat there and gulped down big breaths, wiping the tears off my face. Saying her name had been a mistake. If he was unhappy about me going to Canton before, letting him know that I hadn’t been there a week before I’d run into his real daughter was not going to help the situation.

My mom only came back down the hall as I was getting up to go into my room. “Oh, Tess,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “Why do you insist on making everything so hard on yourself?”

I paused at the door. “Trust me, Mom. It was pretty hard already.”

In my room, I booted up my computer, still fuming. How dare he tell me where I could go to school if he wasn’t paying for it? How dare he call me selfish for wanting the best out of my education, for wanting to get out from under his control for good?

There was a new email, sent to my shiny new Canton address, from Dylan.

Tess,

I kind of lost my nerve back there at my door, but apparently I’m better over email.

All other unfortunate history aside, you and I both know we did awesome work on that project at Cornell. You’re new here, but I can tell you right now that there’s no one else in our Bio-E class that you want to do a term project with. And I know the only person I’d partner with again is you. I think you mentioned you have a few ideas. I do too, and together, I think we can rock the symposium.

What do you say? For science?

Dylan

I pressed reply.

Absolutely. For science.

-Tess

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.”

I swallowed. Why did he have to say it like that?

“Because we worked together before, Tess. Geez, what did you think I meant?” He grinned, and I prayed my face wasn’t as flushed as it felt. He nudged me with his elbow. “Come on, lighten up. Either we’re going to joke about this or we’re going to be awkward and horrible.”

My body told me awkward and horrible would rule the day, no matter how many jokes might come out of my mouth. But I wanted to get over it, the way Dylan so obviously had. I wanted to work with him, because he was right, we had worked so well. I wanted to be all grown-up and professional.

“Besides,” Dylan coaxed. “You don’t want to work with Elaine. She’s biomed all the way. She won’t touch algae with a ten-foot pole.”

“I told her I was enviro.”

“See?” Dylan said with a flourish of his hands. “Elaine was right about one thing. We are a perfect match.”