Fresh Chemistry: Back In The Day, page 1
FRESH CHEMISTRY
BACK IN THE DAY SERIES
HALEY TRAVIS
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Back In The Day Series
Also by Haley Travis
PROLOGUE
MARK
* Ten Years Ago *
Cheering, excited voices surround me, yet inside, I'm numb. Walking out the main doors of Kingsville High West, I should be hurrying to the parking lot to get home to pack.
Instead of going to graduation parties, I'm immediately being sent to explore Europe for the summer to prepare me for university. Not once was I asked if I actually wanted to go. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. My entire life has been mapped out since the day I was born – I'm just expected to show up and do as I'm told.
My eyes skim over the crowd of students, lurking until I find her. The only girl that has ever made my hands shake and my shoulders tighten.
Nicola.
Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a tidy ponytail held with a daisy clip, and she pushes her glasses up her nose while talking to her best friend Jenna.
I don't want to leave Kingsville to "make important connections" and get ahead of my course reading. I would give anything just to lounge with Nicola by the pool, maybe go to a movie. To actually share a meal with her and talk about everything under the sun.
An entire term of Advanced Chemistry spent together as lab partners, and we'd barely spoken of anything outside of our assignments. Sure, I'd try to talk about little things, like the weather when she came in soaking wet with her faded blue zip up hoodie over her head instead of an umbrella. And she mentioned her overprotective mom when I suggested once that we study after school in the library.
The most time we'd spent together outside of class was after our final exam. Her mom was late picking her up, so I waited with her. Struggling to talk about normal things now that the class was over, it felt like rocks were tumbling in my brain. I always got tongue tied about anything other than assignments with her.
I never had that problem speaking with other girls, of course. Because they weren't her – my pretty, nerdy, brilliant, sweet, soft-spoken lab partner who was so detail-oriented that it was actually sexy, at least to me.
Nicola was so smart and focused that she had skipped two grades. She seemed far more mature than my friends. You'd never have guessed that she was only fifteen, and I was seventeen.
The only person I had the nerve to ask about it was my buddy Tyler. He'd rolled his eyes at me and mumbled something about how dating a chick that much younger would "drop my stock". As if I cared what anyone else thought. Then he realized who I was talking about and burst out laughing and called her the Queen of Nerds, forcing me to shove him into Eddie's pool…and the matter was instantly forgotten.
Squaring my slight shoulders, I wonder if results from my workout routine are beginning to show at all. I want to be a strong, capable guy for her. She deserves that.
I need to take action. Nicola has always been incredibly sweet to me. All I have to do is march over, wish her a great summer, and get her number. Or at least her email. Yeah, maybe that's less pushy.
Threading my way through clusters of excited classmates, I watch as Nicola playfully taps Jenna's arm, her ponytail swishing behind her as they laugh about something. I've always wondered what her life is like outside of class. I picture her living in a library, since she sometimes even has her nose in a book while she's walking in the halls.
Nicola gives her friend a quick hug, then walks toward the street. Crap. Her mom's blue car is already here.
My feet start running before I realize what they're doing. "Hey – Nicola!" She doesn't hear me.
Her shoulders slump and her energy changes when she reaches the car. I've seen this before, while I was… well, not stalking her or anything, but watching her leave school a few times. Nicola is always quiet but cheerful around her small circle of friends, and all of the teachers. Yet whenever her mother is around, she instantly goes quiet. As if she's looking over her shoulder, waiting for something terrible to happen.
I stop running, not wanting to scare her or get her into trouble as her Mom flings the car door open. Standing helpless at the edge of the high school lawn, I watch as they drive slowly toward me.
As her Mom turns to look before making a left, I catch Nicola's eye and she raises her fingertips in a tiny wave.
As I wave back, my stomach lurches. The most beautiful girl in the world, the brilliant angel who has haunted my dreams every night for months, the only girl who has ever made my heart race…
Gone.
And the handful of daisies I'd almost had the courage to give her fall to the ground.
1
NICOLA
Straightening my skirt, I cannot believe that Jenna talked me into this. But then again, she's always tried to push me out of my comfort zone.
She's also been my only good friend for a very long time. When I went to school here at Kingsville High West, I had a few acquaintances, though they were mainly people who just wanted to borrow my notes. Jenna was the only actual friend that I made plans with.
There was one other person that I really wanted to spend time with, but I never had the nerve to say anything.
"It feels so strange to be back," Jenna says as we walk through the empty halls. "Unnatural, to be honest."
"I think it's a great idea to unearth those ancient memories before we run into people."
Our ten year reunion is being held at the fancy Lakeview Arms Hotel just two blocks away. The food will definitely be better than anything the cafeteria here could rustle up, plus people are definitely going to want to drink at the party. But they opened the school so that alumni could take a walk around beforehand and reminisce.
"I know you want to check out the chemistry lab to fantasize about your crazy crush on Mark," Jenna laughs, as we walk down the empty echoing corridor. "I'm going to walk through the cafeteria. Meet you in the library in a bit?"
"Sure." I listen to her heels clicking away down the linoleum hallway, then turn the corner and reach the lab where I spent a year in the most intense class of my life. The door is locked, so I stare through the window at the back table.
Apparently it was common for the back station to be used by slackers who weren't really paying attention. When Mr. Chehoski realized that Mark and I were obviously the brightest kids in class, he put us back there together to inspire each other.
We were incredible lab partners. Our experiments and papers were textbook perfect every single time. Mr. Chehoski often took photos of our work, saying that he was going to use it for future presentation material. I secretly suspected he wanted to brag to other teachers about us.
It wasn't him that I was desperate to impress, though. It was Mark. The slightly tall, kind of skinny boy with warm, brown eyes. He was always so sweet to me.
Jenna was the only person in my life who had been nice to me from the very beginning. But Mark was more than nice. He was caring. Thoughtful.
Whenever I had extra study prep and worked through lunch, he would sneak me cookies. Sure, he pretended that he was trying to keep my blood sugar up so that we would continue our immaculate grades, but the twinkle in his eye told me that was just an excuse.
He liked me.
At least, I think he did. It was hard to tell, since he only touched me accidentally when we were both reaching for the same pen or beaker. Yet he never withdrew his hand quickly, almost stroking my fingers tentatively as I pulled away.
I wish that he'd asked me out. Maybe he thought it would be awkward because he was two years older. Sometimes I wonder if my overprotective mother encouraged me to skip two grades so that nobody in my classes would want to date me. Personally, I didn't think that fifteen and seventeen was that big of a deal.
But Mark disappeared as soon as the school year was over. I heard that he moved to New York for university.
I've never been able to bring myself to look him up online, beyond discovering that he's running his family's company, Pearson Skincare. The thought of seeing him with a smiling wife and kids just breaks my heart. Not that I have any right to have such feelings, but… Jenna was right. Mark was my first crush. My only crush, to be honest.
Staring through the window at "our" station, I wonder if the tiny flower sticker he gave me for my birthday is still stuck to the back leg of the table.
Turning toward the library, I step into a wall of fabric. Blinking quickly, I see it's a dark blue tie over a black shirt and suit jacket. A very wide jacket. My chin tips up and I gasp in surprise at the huge, solid, stunningly gorgeous man in front of me…
With very familiar warm, brown eyes.
"Wondering if your daisy sticker is still there?" Mark asks with a grin. "They probably scrubbed it off by now. But no need to panic."
He digs in his pocket, and I catch a glimpse of a luxury designer watch. My mouth falls open as he hands me a stack of identical sparkly flower stickers. "I found more of them in a store a few months ago." Frozen, I gape as he places them in the palm of my hand, the
He steps back slightly, raking his eyes all the way down my figure, then back up again. "Nicola," he murmurs, his voice a deep rasp. Then he swallows hard. "I thought I was prepared for anything. But I wasn't expecting this."
The rich voice. The short, dark beard. The thick wall of his chest. Everything about Mark has changed. And now he's the most stunning man I've ever seen. My breath catches as I continue to stare at him, too shocked to be polite. He's so huge and savagely masculine that my natural instinct might ordinarily be fear, except those soft, chocolatey eyes make me melt as he spreads his arms wide for a hug.
Dropping the stickers into my purse, I embrace him, arms stretching up around his neck. His lips float along my temple, barely brushing my skin. I feel him as much as hear his slow inhale. "You still smell incredible."
My inner thighs clench as a slow heat rises between them and up into my core. I've never craved a man's touch like this. So warm and tingly.
Stepping away, I smooth my hair and try to pull myself together. "Hi, Mark. I mean, if that's really you. You look…kinda different."
He smirks, not arrogantly, simply acknowledging the obvious. "University was stressful. Instead of stuffing my face with pizza and guzzling cheap beer, I hit the gym."
He takes my hand, a thrill zipping through me while he turns me in a slow circle. "You're exquisite," he murmurs.
I feel completely naked from the way he stares at me hungrily.
"Are you…" It's interesting to watch such a gorgeous, confident man suddenly falter. "Are you here alone? I couldn't find anything about you online."
"I'm here with—" His eyes tighten until I finish. "Jenna."
He exhales a chuckle, then holds out his arm. "Well then, may I escort you to the ball, Cinderella?"
Is he just being friendly, or is this his way of flirting?
We walk toward the main entrance, and I see Jenna in the doorway of the library. She mouths the word, "Wow." She flaps her hand to say I should go on without her.
We step outside and Mark looks down to examine my feet. "Cute shoes. But probably not that comfortable for walking. May I drive you?"
"Sure."
We turn toward the few cars in the lot, and my mouth falls open again as he walks us to a matte black Rolls Royce Wraith. "The rental place has a few extra options when you're a CEO," he explains with a shrug, taking my hand to help me in.
During the few seconds of alone time I have as he walks around to the driver's side, my mind races. This luxury car emanates wealth and power, just like Mark. I knew his family were well off, and knew Pearson Skincare with their cutting edge products and brilliant marketing was doing well, but…wow.
Mark still has the same boyish, sweet spark in his eyes. Yet now it feels like he's hoping for more than just to hold my hand under the table.
From the instant, fiery spark between us, I already know that I want everything he does.
Which is to say, everything.
2
MARK
So many decisions in my life have been made for me. What university I went to. The double major in chemistry and business. Global travel, always "stopping off to make some connections" along the way.
My parents know how to run an empire, but not a family. I've always felt more like their employee than their son.
I've spent years dreaming of the day I could come back to Kingsville and find Nicola. So many things in my life have been decided because they would be best for my career; a second chance with her is the only thing I've ever truly wanted just for me.
I had to get some time away, so I explained to my father that coming to this reunion could be a brilliant way to reconnect with people who might be potentially useful, now that we're building a facility here.
Honestly, the real reason was to reconnect with the one person who has ever liked me just for who I was. Well, and our epic chemistry experiments together.
I pull up in front of the Kingsville Arms Hotel, tossing the keys to the valet as I rush around to Nicola's side to help her out, using the opportunity to ogle every luscious inch of her incredible figure.
Ten years ago she was sweetly beautiful. A shy, awkward, slightly nerdy girl with big blue eyes and mousy blonde hair.
Now, my former lab partner is an absolute bombshell. She has the graceful and slight frame of a dancer, but just a bit curvier where it counts. The midnight blue fabric of her form-fitting dress makes her fair skin practically glow. Her eyes pop even more without the glasses, and her long, slightly wavy hair is a lighter blonde now – more sunshine and beaches rather than pale bookworm.
I can't stop staring at her plush bottom lip, and have been aching to kiss her from the second I saw her in front of our old classroom. Yet if I've waited this long, I can wait a bit more. I want the moment to be perfect.
My arm wraps around her waist as we walk inside, and I notice snotty Tonya Carter, the head cheerleader and class gossip back in the day. Watching her jaw drop as we walk in together almost makes me laugh out loud.
Nicola seems nervous as we step into the ballroom, name tags that we received at the door awkwardly stuck on. "I don't know these people anymore," she whispers. "Some of them kind of look familiar, but it's just so weird. Isn't it?"
I lower my lips to her ear. "It is. You wanna have a drink in the corner and just stare at everyone for a while?"
She looks up at me with a grin. "That's not rude? I thought we were supposed to mingle."
"We can do whatever we want." I waggle my eyebrows. "We're adults now, right?"
Nicola giggles sweetly, making my eyes gravitate to her luscious lips again. We head for the bar, where she has a sauvignon blanc and I'm delighted to see that they have one of my favorite reposados.
"I thought that tequila unless it was in a margarita was just for party shots," she laughs as we find a table near the back.
"That's what the single ice cube is for," I explain. "Now it's all fancy."
"But is it fancy-schmancy?" Her right eyebrow raises. She always used to say that when I showed up with a cool new pen or a notebook with heavy cream paper.
"Yes. And I love that you still use that phrase."
Back in high school, I never could stop staring at Nicola's pretty little pixie face, and the way her graceful fingers fluttered across our notes and experiments. Now watching her fingers delicately grasping the stem of her wine glass while wearing a very grownup dress, my thoughts are much more adult as well. I've never had this sort of intense reaction to a woman before.
No wonder my few short relationships couldn't last more than a month. Nicola is the only woman I've ever craved. Felt this deep chemistry with.
"Are you single?" I murmur, reaching out to trail my fingers along her wrist.
Her eyes drop, staring at my left hand. "That's such a cliche question for these sorts of things. But, yes." She looks at me sideways. "You?"
"Yeah." My fingers thread through hers. "I tried dating, but I never felt this electricity with them." Slipping our hands under the table, I lean closer. "I think we always wanted to do this in class, didn't we?"
"I know I did," she breathes, finally looking up at me. "But you were older, and already had your life together—"
I give an undignified snort. "I most certainly did not." She giggles as my thumb caresses her soft skin. "My family had my life together for me, always has. I'm just…" My head shakes as I search for the best way to explain it. "I'm the final piece of the puzzle, created to drop into place and hold everything together. I'm not special, or talented. I was just raised to be this…designated person."
Her face falls. "I hate that you feel that way."
I roll my eyes. "It's just my reality. Like having dark hair." Leaning in, I nuzzle the side of her head. "I like that you've gone lighter. This mint shampoo smells incredible."
