Rocket Science (Love Logic, #1)

by K.M. Neuhold

“You remember Elijah?” he asks, and I chuckle, reaching for the fresh drink the bartender places in front of me. “Of course, I remember little Einstein,” I answer, images of the knobby kneed, bespectacled nerd my brother called his best friend through most of his childhood fill my mind. With our age difference, I left for college when Theo was only ten, so I can’t say I knew much about his life or his friends, but I always got a kick out of Einstein.

A pleasant feeling of peace and pride settles over me as the equation starts to come together, the calculation for a satellite’s orbit emerging. There’s a reason numbers have always made more sense to me than people do. Numbers are simple: they always do what you expect them to do. It’s what drew me to aerospace engineering, the ability to see a problem and find a solution using known mathematical principles of physics is amazing. Plus, rockets.

I glance over at the model rocket on my dresser, squished in beside my bed, in the corner of the room. It was a present from my best friend, Theo, before I left New York. Theo doesn’t make sense either, but I like him anyway. He’s kind and funny, even if he always had a bad habit of forcing me to leave the house and be around other people I didn’t like all that much.

“Then you’d make a friend,” he says with a hint of sadness in his voice, like it’s paining him to have to explain this to me. “I already have a friend,” I point out. “We have an entire country between us,” he argues. “That doesn’t diminish our friendship.”

“Seriously though, I am only eighteen, I finished high school when I was fifteen and then got my undergrad done in three years, so here we are.” “Oh wow.” So, he’s a genius and apparently isn’t lacking in social skills or self-confidence. I’ve heard of such unicorns but haven’t seen one in the wild before now.

Elijah: What are you wearing? Pax: Nothing but a smile ;) Elijah: What? Elijah: Oh my god, I meant seriously, what are you wearing to the dinner party? Pax: That’s unfortunate, I was so excited you’d gotten the hang of flirting for a second Elijah: No, and don’t hold your breath for that to happen any time soon. Pax: What you normally wear is fine. You look hot in your stylish blazers

I know I’m not supposed to feel anything other than lust for Pax. That’s kind of the whole point of our not complicated arrangement. But what am I supposed to do when he takes me somewhere so thoughtful and looks at me like I’m someone? What am I supposed to do when he kisses me like he doesn’t have a choice? If he doesn’t want me to fall in love with him, he’s doing a really crappy job of keeping that from happening.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, typing a message to Bishop, because he’s the only one I can imagine not laughing at me for what I’m about to ask. Pax: What does it mean if you go over to your fuck buddy’s house and spend the night working side by side and then instead of having sex you just hold him while he sleeps? Bishop: You want an honest answer to that? Pax: I think so. I’ve been avoiding asking myself this question, and I’m not sure I can run from it much longer. Pax: I knew he had to study tonight, and I wanted to see him even if it meant we wouldn’t have sex. I just wanted to BE with him. Bishop: I think it means you’re in love with him Pax: Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of