“You’re making this very awkward,” Cohen says to Lydia, tearing his eyes away from me.
“Well, sorry, but we really do need to know,” she says. “Are you going to tell us or not?”
I should say something, but I have absolutely no idea what. Instead I stare fixedly at the wall behind Cohen as my cheeks burn probably hotter than they ever have in my entire life.
Cohen clearly notices, because he smiles and says, “Your face is so red right now.”
“I can feel it,” I say, my voice squeaking.
Always the squeaking.
He pushes off the wall. “Fine,” he says, a hint of a smile still in his voice. “Your physical attractiveness has been enhanced. And I’ll smell you,” he says. I’m still not looking at him, but in my peripheral vision I can see his smile widen.
“People don’t just go around smelling each other,” I say, finally looking at Cohen. I hope he doesn’t mention that I smelled him just yesterday.
“That’s true,” Lydia says, looking thoughtful as she glances between us. “Let’s just have you hug. That will work.”
Cohen looks at Lydia quickly, and she shrugs. Cohen looks back to me and sighs. He opens his arms and beckons to me. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s get it over with.”
“How flattering,” I say, my voice flat.
He grins and beckons again, and this time I step forward.
I wouldn’t mind smelling his cologne again, I guess.
I slip my arms around his middle, and he folds his arms around me—andwow, that’s a muscular chest. And arms. Cohen is kind of ripped. I let my head rest against the solid wall of his chest for a second, feeling strangely…safe. Comfortable.
Is this how it would feel to hug Jack?
“Smelled me?” I say.
He lowers his head so it’s closer to my neck and then inhales deeply. “Smelled you, and you smell good. Check that box, Lydia, and stop making this weird.”
We release each other immediately and step apart. I can’t quite look at him. I look at Lydia instead, who’s beaming once again.
“Great!” she says, her voice chipper. “Well, I’m off to do homework. I’ll see you on Monday, Mina. Thanks for letting me play fairy godmother!”
And then, before I even have time to thank her, she disappears back in her room and closes the door behind her.
I stare at Cohen. He stares at me.
This is awkward.
“I finished the test,” he says, his voice cracking as he speaks.
Right. The ACT. That’s the whole reason I’m here.
“Good,” I say, latching on to that topic with relief. “Good. How was it? Did you check the answer key after?”
“Yeah,” he says, his voice more normal now. “I did the worst on the English section.”
I nod. “And where did you do the best?”
“Science,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Then math, then reading, then English.”
“Great,” I say. “We can start there. Reading and English.” I clear my throat. “Can I get my books?”
“Yeah,” he says, turning and going back to his room. I follow him. “But before you go home…” He trails off, sounding sort of nervous, and I eye him suspiciously.
