“Well, I’ll leave you two. I’ve got ten minutes to make it across campus.” Jasper waves before sprinting off, leaving me standing awkwardly with my hands in my pockets while Holly watches me.

“You’re really uncomfortable right now, aren’t you?”

Her question takes me aback, and I fumble on a response. “What? Me? No. Of course not. I’m so comfortable right now. I’m practically a Lay-Z-Boy recliner.”

And I’m also an idiot.

She laughs. “Oh, Ben. I knew it.”

“Knew what?” I brace myself.

“You’re weird.”

Holly is full-on grinning at me now, and it’s hard not to smile back when she gazes up at me with that joyful expression on her face.

“I’m not weird.” There’s no conviction behind my words because they’re definitely a lie.

“Oh, sorry. My mistake. You’re totally normal, and you did not just compare yourself to furniture.” She’s still staring up at me, clearly enjoying herself.

And, suddenly, I want to be weird. I want to be so weird for her.

“Not just any furniture. A Lay-Z-Boy. That’s a high-quality chair. Someone weird would pick a crappy piece of furniture, like a desk.”

Holly breaks then. One hand on her hip, the other covering her mouth, she lets her laughter spill out, and the sound is something I could get drunk off of. I step in closer, so I can soak up as much as possible.

“So weird. I love it.” She shakes her head, eyes squinting with her smile. “So, you decided to ambush me, huh?”

Ashamed, I hang my head, maybe putting on a bit of a show for some sympathy. She gives my shoulder a light shove, and I have to fist my hands in my pockets, so I don’t grab her wrist to pull her in closer.

“Don’t worry. I’m not mad.”

“Yeah, sorry. Jasper said you were in his class. And I guess I just wanted to see you again, so I thought casually dropping by would be the cool thing to do. But, now, I’m realizing it’s more stalkery.”

“Well, as long as you realize that. And you seem sorry, so I’ll forgive you.”

Holly steps closer to me, and I get teased with the scent of her perfume. It’s kind of sweet, like honeysuckles. I breathe deeper.

“So, do you want to do something? My next class isn’t for a few hours.”

She’s asking me to hang out. Hell, I want to say yes so badly. A normal guy could.

But I’m weird. It burns in my stomach that I only got these few short minutes with her.

“I want to, but I’ve got somewhere to be soon. Can I take a rain check?”

Please say yes. Please say yes.

She doesn’t answer right away. Instead, her eyes travel down to where I’m unconsciously rubbing my knuckles on my forearm. I stop the moment I realize it but not before Holly’s face shows understanding.

“You have a dialysis treatment?”

I get over my surprise fast when I remember that her brother probably has a fistula in his arm in the exact same place I do. Holly obviously knows the basics of treatment for kidney failures.