He held out his hand to her because he wanted to remind her that they were in this together and because he just wanted to hold her hand. It could be as simple as that.

She ducked her head to hide her smile and slid her small hand into his, and they resumed walking toward the administrative building.

“See,” he said to her, “this isn’t so bad.”

“Shut up,” Deja laughed.

Two hours later and Deja felt as if she’d stepped into a brand-new world, on a brand-new campus.

“That’s it?” she asked Alejandro for the third time since they’d stepped onto the elevator after leaving the HR office.

“That’s it.”

“But like…how?”

He turned to her with bunched eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I thought they would like…interrogate us or something. Ask for documentation? Something more than make us sign a bunch of paperwork.”

“Is HR the CIA now?” he asked, laughing.

“Shut up,” she said. “That can’t be it. Right?”

“Do you want an answer, or am I still shutting up?” he asked playfully.

“Don’t make me go right back up there and tell them we’ve already broken up.”

Alejandro burst into laughter. He released her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “That’s it. There’s nothing else we need to do. As far as the university’s concerned, they aren’t liable for any mess we make of this relationship. All we have to do is stop getting each other off in your office,” he said, whispering that last sentence into her ear.

Deja shivered, in good and bad ways, but for the first time in weeks, she didn’t break out in a cold sweat thinking about that door closing.

“No more,” she said resolutely. “No kissing on campus, either.”

“What?” Alejandro stopped in his tracks and turned her toward him.

Deja started laughing. “No one wants to see us making out in Brews! Chill.”

“Okay, I’m not saying we should make out, but I can, like, kiss you hi or goodbye, right?”

“No. Use your words.”

“Deja,” he started.

“What’s up, friends!” Mike called from across the Oval.

They turned to see him walking toward them alongside Toni and Marie.

“Is this a lover’s spat?” Toni yelled.

“Jesus. We should get new friends,” Alejandro breathed to Deja.

“Very much agree.”

“What’s up?” Marie said when they were closer. “Did you meet with HR?”

Deja nodded.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

“It’s just paperwork,” she shrieked.

Alejandro groaned, shaking his head. “Here we go again.”

“This is cute,” Toni said, gesturing between them. “I expect more of this to ease the pain of student papers.”

“We’re not dancing monkeys,” Alejandro said.