Deep In Love: An Academic Rivals-to-Lovers Spicy STEM Romance

by Nicole Cubba

My resolve is weak around her, which is why the lab is always unlocked for her to steal the pipette whenever she needs.

The urge to kiss Charlotte Bowen when she’s grumpy is overwhelming. That urge is present at all times, but when the corners of her mouth pull downward and her bottom lip sticks out, it screams “kiss me silly.”

“Dudes and dudettes,” he yells. “You two must be my super geniuses. Gotta say, I thought you two were a bit older.”

Charlie giggles—again. That’s two giggles for Jett in two minutes, when I have yet to receive a single giggle in the two years of knowing her.

ooooo mateo is jealousssss

Quick-witted and funny, she has an orbit that’s easy to fall into, and it’s clear the others agree. I only wish she would fall into my orbit, too.

The video ends, and sniffling fills the room, only it’s not my own. “Are you crying?” “Yes. That was very sad.” He scoots closer, the light from my phone illuminating his features. “Do you have more of these videos?”

“Love, compassion, and emotional healing.” Oh. Oh. Of all the bracelets on her wrist, I chose the one symbolizing love. The universe wasn’t aiming for subtlety.

Leaning in, I tell Jett the plan. “I don’t care about winning. I only care about sabotaging Shaun.” Jett’s head tilts before a roguish grin appears. “Ah…This is about Blondie, isn’t it?”

Mateo is brooding, and I’m so turned on by it I might burst into flames.

Charlie and I are dating! I can’t wait to tell my abuela.

Her discovery of a worm is much cooler than my previous update, which was to tell her the soil smells like farts. She gave me a disgusted look, unscrewed the cap to the sampling tube, and promptly gagged from the horrendous scent.

“Cariño.”

“Cute, but no. You’ve got to earn the chocolate, bruja. We’ve been over this.” “This is not helping disprove my ‘ruler of hell’ theory.”

Warmth creeps up my neck, but before I can defend myself, Mateo searches the empty lounge, takes my face between his hands, and plants a searing, breath-snatching kiss on my lips.

Shitting yourself is for seasoned relationships.

I patiently wait as Mateo digs a chocolate out of the bag and places one in my hand, then one in Jett’s awaiting palm.

He’s going to talk about this forever, and I will never live it down. The day Mateo Alvarez managed to Pavlov Charlotte Bowen will be marked in the history books as the worst day of my life.

The tragic life of a duke.

HES A DUKE ???

The world is complicated—messy and ever-changing. But she is my one absolute; my heart begins and ends with her.

“If you go overboard, I’d have to follow you, and our pasta would get cold.” “You’d follow me?” I ask, hung up on the statement. “I’d follow you anywhere, Charlie.”

“You have to tell me everything. Love is super dope.”

“Oh, sure.” She pops up from the table, pausing to drag a hand along my bicep. She follows me to the monitor, and I step aside for her to view the screen. “I’m glad you’ve realized my intellect is far superior…” Charlie trails off.

Goodbye, boob prison.

“I haven’t slept with anyone since the day we met,”

My guy has been celibate for 2 years cause hes obsessed with her. Crazy

“Every other woman ceased to exist after I met you. You were—are—all I think about.”

I am only a man—a weak one when it comes to Charlie—and if she finds my slight accent sexy, I am going to lean into it.

“So…you have a boyfriend?” she screams through the phone, ending the emotional moment—for my sake. “I-I think so…” My face heats, the warmth creeping out to my ears and down my neck. Before Amy can answer, the door to the bathroom cracks open, and I yelp. Mateo’s head pops in the room, his hair unruly and sticking up at a million different angles. “She does,” he says confidently before he winces and slams his eyes shut. Amy squeals, wolf whistling, and the grating sounds echo through the small bathroom. “Hi, Amy.”

Can you even legally drive, considering how blind you are? ^^^This translates to “I’m an asshole with nothing else to do than tear down incredible women who wouldn’t give me the time of day.” If having a horrible personality was an Olympic sport, you would have a gold medal.

We love vivian

Vivian barrels into me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders in a brutal yet comforting hug. Sofía joins from the other side, and after a moment of confusion, Jett completes the sandwich hug.

“Fuck, marry, or kill,” Vivian says, pouring wine into the plastic cups we stole from the kitchen. “Dracula, bigfoot, and a centaur.”

Once you’ve had a good wienering, you really can’t go back.

This seems like an inappropriate time to sport a boner.

“Oh. My. God,” Amy screams. “She’s cuddling. Don’t fucking move.” She scrambles around. “Don’t move,” she wails, grabbing her phone and shoving it in Charlie’s face like a mom at a dance recital.

“Yes,” Cheryl screams, leaping from her chair to peer over the desk and into my lap, where I’m holding on to Mateo for dear life.

“I told you, Dan,” Cheryl yells, shockingly accusatory. “What did I say?” “They’re meant for each other, they only need a little shove,” Dan responds in a monotone voice.

No, he isn’t holding me hostage—unless you consider being dick-whipped a form of glorious torture. He simply convinced me to fall in love with him. Shocking, I know. Let’s all move along,

Luckily, Mateo is reestablishing the status quo: he annoys me and feeds me chocolate, and I have to pretend his smile doesn’t send vibrations to my vagina.

I let the silence sink into my bones, mentally throwing questions into the universe in hopes they’ll reach him. Do you have any regrets? How do you feel about the state of the world? What are your thoughts about spray cheese?