Fifteen minutes ago, Deja would have been over the moon to be standing so close to Alejandro for any reason, but now she just felt numb. Her brain had decided to stop processing new information, so she didn’t hear any of Dean Ward’s ideas, not that anyone noticed. Eventually, the other woman patted their shoulders and sped away as if her simple request hadn’t just detonated what little control Deja had over her schedule.

Deja stared numbly at the space where the Dean had been for a second before turning toward the exit. She only had enough brain power to make a firm decision that she wasn’t even going to pretend to work tonight. All she wanted to do was go home, get into her baggiest sweats, take her two glasses of wine to bed, and try not to cry herself to sleep before she was good and tipsy.

The sky was gray, and the fall air was bitterly cold, but Deja barely felt it because her anxiety was keeping her very warm.

“Are you going back to Mark?”

Alejandro’s voice pulled Deja abruptly out of her downward spiral. She hadn’t even noticed he was walking beside her out of the building. She turned to him and was surprised at just how sexy he was, as if she’d never seen him up close before. But she couldn’t even really appreciate him because her brain felt like it was covered in a thick fog. She had to think about her answer to his question for a few seconds longer than was probably normal.

“No…I mean yes. I forgot my charger,” she finally said.

“Again?” he asked with a smile.

She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. It took her a few seconds to realize that he was talking about last month’s Faculty Senate meeting.

“Oh, yeah. I guess it’s a habit. I’m just so busy and tired,” she admitted, her cheeks warming. “I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed onto my neck. At least that’s what my grandfather used to say.”

Alejandro chuckled and dipped his head to make eye contact with her. “That’s more than relatable.” He smiled, and she found herself smiling back. And then he cocked his head toward the Oval. “Walk with me?”

The question made Deja’s brain fog lift because that question sounded…different. His voice was softer — an intimate whisper she’d never heard before. His pupils were slightly dilated and warm, inviting even. Also warm was Deja’s skin, and not just her cheeks but her chest at first, and then it began to spread across her entire body. She swallowed thickly before nodding at him.

“Don’t worry about the committee,” he said when they were halfway toward their building.