gloved hands were curved tight around her
purse strap. “It’s really no trouble.” She gestured down the street towards the
garage.
“Don’t do me any favors.” There was something stiff
and dismissive through his shoulders as Marc towered over her. But he was still
paying attention to her. “What do you want, Allie?”
Allie opened her mouth. Closed it. She pulled on a
helpless smile. “I want to get out of the street?” She loosened the nervous
grip of her fingers to swing her arms out in a shrug. “Come on.” She dared to
bat her hand at his elbow. “I’m going back anyway. Ride with me.”
Marc looked at her for a second longer before
nodding. His stride was long when he joined her and she had to be quick to keep
up. She found herself fighting to prevent her steps from wandering into
collision with his side. It was cold, the wind blustering through the spaces
between buildings, and the solid bulk of his frame offered shelter.
For long strides Marc walked in silence. Allie
worried she had made him angry. She peeked at him around the corona of her hair
where it had been worked to frizz around the edge of her knit cap. His gaze was
distant, taking in the city street around them and the faint gleam of snow in
the moonlight that made the rising mountains visible in the distance.
Allie felt an odd flutter of anxiety as they walked
into the dark of the parking garage. She wasn’t used to going anywhere at night
with men. She told herself she was being silly. She had been working with Marc
and his team for the better part of the week now. She’d jabbed him with needles
and scraped him with sampling brushes. She tried to tell herself that he wasn’t
any different from one of the resident gymnasts that she’d gotten to know well,
nor any other of the many athletes that came through the training center. None
of them made her nervous like this.
But all that she could think of when she unlocked
the doors so they could get into her car was how good he had smelled that first
evening when he’d tried to kiss her. It was ridiculous. It wasn’t even like
they were on a date. She was just giving him a lift back from downtown.
Allie tried to ignore him in her periphery as she
got the car started and headed out onto the route back to the training center.
The way he braced his forearm across the window made it difficult not to notice
Marc when she glanced to her sideview mirror. She could see his fingertips
pensively pressing along the window’s edging as he watched the streets slide
past in the night.
They were halfway back when he finally spoke. “It’s
not like I have some weird … thing. About being your research rat.” Marc
seemed annoyed with himself for saying it. He frowned out the window.
“I was just joking.” She regretted it now. Allie
could only flick her glance towards him briefly since she was watching the
road. “I didn’t really think you did.”
Maybe that eased him somewhat, but it was hard for
Allie to tell in the ever-changing shift of light and shadow that washed over
the strong angles of his features while she drove.
“I want,” Marc said with steadier emphasis, “to be
on this team.”
Allie blinked. It sounded like honesty. It was like
she was compelled to ruin the moment. “You know, our human subject review
committee … there can’t be coercion.”
“I told you,” Marc angled a look at her. That
annoyed tension was definitely wound tight along his jaw. “I don’t do things I
don’t want to.” Sniffing against the cold, he looked forward again and rolled
his shoulders into a deeper slouch within his seat. “Everett gave me a list,
and I chose this.”
“A list?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but it was only
technically a smile. “Yeah. The list of unselfish things. The coach is
concerned that I’m not a team player.”
Allie still didn’t really understand and she didn’t
know what to say. Certainly, from what she’d witnessed in her days working
purse strap. “It’s really no trouble.” She gestured down the street towards the
garage.
“Don’t do me any favors.” There was something stiff
and dismissive through his shoulders as Marc towered over her. But he was still
paying attention to her. “What do you want, Allie?”
Allie opened her mouth. Closed it. She pulled on a
helpless smile. “I want to get out of the street?” She loosened the nervous
grip of her fingers to swing her arms out in a shrug. “Come on.” She dared to
bat her hand at his elbow. “I’m going back anyway. Ride with me.”
Marc looked at her for a second longer before
nodding. His stride was long when he joined her and she had to be quick to keep
up. She found herself fighting to prevent her steps from wandering into
collision with his side. It was cold, the wind blustering through the spaces
between buildings, and the solid bulk of his frame offered shelter.
For long strides Marc walked in silence. Allie
worried she had made him angry. She peeked at him around the corona of her hair
where it had been worked to frizz around the edge of her knit cap. His gaze was
distant, taking in the city street around them and the faint gleam of snow in
the moonlight that made the rising mountains visible in the distance.
Allie felt an odd flutter of anxiety as they walked
into the dark of the parking garage. She wasn’t used to going anywhere at night
with men. She told herself she was being silly. She had been working with Marc
and his team for the better part of the week now. She’d jabbed him with needles
and scraped him with sampling brushes. She tried to tell herself that he wasn’t
any different from one of the resident gymnasts that she’d gotten to know well,
nor any other of the many athletes that came through the training center. None
of them made her nervous like this.
But all that she could think of when she unlocked
the doors so they could get into her car was how good he had smelled that first
evening when he’d tried to kiss her. It was ridiculous. It wasn’t even like
they were on a date. She was just giving him a lift back from downtown.
Allie tried to ignore him in her periphery as she
got the car started and headed out onto the route back to the training center.
The way he braced his forearm across the window made it difficult not to notice
Marc when she glanced to her sideview mirror. She could see his fingertips
pensively pressing along the window’s edging as he watched the streets slide
past in the night.
They were halfway back when he finally spoke. “It’s
not like I have some weird … thing. About being your research rat.” Marc
seemed annoyed with himself for saying it. He frowned out the window.
“I was just joking.” She regretted it now. Allie
could only flick her glance towards him briefly since she was watching the
road. “I didn’t really think you did.”
Maybe that eased him somewhat, but it was hard for
Allie to tell in the ever-changing shift of light and shadow that washed over
the strong angles of his features while she drove.
“I want,” Marc said with steadier emphasis, “to be
on this team.”
Allie blinked. It sounded like honesty. It was like
she was compelled to ruin the moment. “You know, our human subject review
committee … there can’t be coercion.”
“I told you,” Marc angled a look at her. That
annoyed tension was definitely wound tight along his jaw. “I don’t do things I
don’t want to.” Sniffing against the cold, he looked forward again and rolled
his shoulders into a deeper slouch within his seat. “Everett gave me a list,
and I chose this.”
“A list?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but it was only
technically a smile. “Yeah. The list of unselfish things. The coach is
concerned that I’m not a team player.”
Allie still didn’t really understand and she didn’t
know what to say. Certainly, from what she’d witnessed in her days working
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