Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Yes…the math on that is very interesting.” Blinking again, he let out a breath and latched onto the scholarly side of the conversation. “It could be a fascinating topic to research, but I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not.”
I had to chuckle. “Most of the students would love talking about themselves, but I’m not sure we need to draw attention to how interesting the campus is.”
We’d skated under the radar so far, but that seemed to be because someone had friends in high and kinky places.
“Probably not.” Finally looking like he was breathing and thinking naturally, Ruslan glanced around the room. “But what we can study is how much food they can pack away. Your pizza is already gone and I didn’t get another piece.”
Oh, the opening there…but I wasn’t sure if he realized I wanted to ask him out on a date, so I held off.
“It turned out better than I expected.” The combination of pizza and mac-n-cheese drew everyone to it, and not just the littles in the club.
“You did a very good job.” His cheeks heated, giving me a hint about what was going on in his head. “Everyone did a very good job. Better than last year, I think.”
I had to agree with him.
“I’ve heard whispers of freshmen getting together over the summer to practice before classes start.” There was even a very well-founded rumor about some of them taking a cooking class from one of the other guys’ mother.
I couldn’t vouch for it firsthand, but I’d heard that she owned a restaurant.
Ruslan chuckled, cheeks going back to normal. “Well, at least they’re learning practical skills.”
It was too much temptation and I couldn’t resist teasing him. “I’m not sure perfecting their mac-n-cheese skills counts as an amazing life lesson unless they’re planning on marrying a little.”
And the eyes went wide again, but just for a split second.
He was so fucking brave.
“This is definitely the campus for that to be a useful skill.” His confident response had me fighting the urge to kiss his cheek and tell him what a good boy he was.
“Very true.” Trying to sound casual, I nodded around the room. “A few of the more competitive people in the group are trying to decide if they want to start a YouTube Channel to show off food creations for littles. You know, like the mashed potato volcano with the dino nuggets that keeps popping up online?”
Ruslan was fighting to look like the conversation was just something he’d have on a regular basis and nodded slowly again. “Yes, I think that’s really just one picture that goes round and round, though. So more of those might be fun.”
Yep, he was starting to get it.
“I’m not sure I’d have the patience to make something that fun and not have the right person to share it with.” Shrugging, I tried not to come across as too flirty. “Like with the pizza, it wouldn’t be as much fun if I didn’t know how much you liked it. Doing it and just showing it off for the camera would be weird to me.”
Blink.
Blink.
Swallow.
“You need a personal connection.” Trying to stand straighter, Ruslan went into professor mode. “That makes a lot of sense. Some people can get that same connection through a camera or through a medium like videos but not everyone.”
He was so cute.
“What about you? Do you lean toward the more personal?” I was trying to keep the conversation from going too far out of his comfort zone, so I was glad when he took a breath and nodded.
“Yes, with things I’m passionate about and even things that are just fun like the club, I like having people around. It’s more fun to me that way, but I never got into the whole share everything online culture that most of the students in the club participate in.”
“So you like sharing your passions with the right people but you’re private. I think that’s perfectly reasonable and very common around here.” I glanced around the room and chuckled. “Well, maybe not with this crowd but with the students and professors in general.”
He grinned, back to looking completely at ease and almost flirty. “Yes, we seem to get the more outgoing students. I never would’ve expected that, but it’s fun to watch.”
“It’s hilarious some weeks.” My response had him trying not to laugh. “I’m going to miss it when I finally graduate.”
Ruslan’s brows pulled together and he fidgeted before taking a subtle deep breath. “Are you…are you moving away when you graduate? Your master’s is in history? I think someone mentioned that you were going to be working for the Parks Department?”
Had he asked about me?
“Yes, I’m finishing up a dual master’s program in history and tourism management. I’ve got my foot in the door to work at some of the historical sites in the area.” The ridiculous number of hours I’d done volunteering in high school had paid off, but I still needed the degrees to show that I knew what I’d already learned firsthand.