Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 164557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Beckett settles next to me, leaning in to smack a kiss on my cheek. “How’s the blood project going?”
“It’s my capstone project,” I correct with a grin. “And it’s a blood pressure device.”
“Right. Explain this to me again?” He peeks over my shoulder at the laptop screen. “I’m trying to get my nerd fix for the night.”
Will snorts.
But because I happen to be a nerd, I can’t pass up the opportunity to nerd out when given the chance.
“Okay. So,” I tell Beckett, excited to talk about my capstone. “Imagine a device that can measure your heart rate and blood pressure without the need for those annoying cuffs. It’s totally noninvasive. You know, no squeezing or anything.”
“But squeezing is fun.” He winks at me.
“Yeah, for you, perv.” I snicker. “But normal people don’t like those cuffs squeezing their arms, especially if they need to check their blood pressure multiple times a day.”
“True,” he agrees. He glances back at the laptop. “So you’re saying that gadget there can take someone’s blood pressure? How?”
“Dude,” Will warns from the chaise. “You have no idea the can of nerd worms you just opened.”
I beam at Beckett. “How, you ask? Let me tell you!”
“Larsen,” he groans. “Save me.”
“Nah.”
“So basically,” I explain, “it involves a combination of photoplethysmography and oscillometry. PPG is a technique that uses light to measure changes in blood volume, and oscillometry is used to estimate blood pressure based on arterial pulsations.”
He sighs. “I don’t think that was English.”
“Sure it was.”
“Can we just say you’re creating a device that makes those old-fashioned cuffs look like dinosaur tech? I don’t need to see behind the curtain.”
“Fine, but only if you promise to help me test the prototype. Both of you. You guys are going to be my human guinea pigs.”
Will looks over with a lewd smile. “You can do anything you want to my body.”
“Any day of the week,” Beckett agrees. “Actually, no. I’ll be your lab rat as long as it doesn’t involve any scary-ass wires and electric shock.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be painless. Unless you count the pain of having to listen to me explain the minutiae of heart rate variability and signal processing.”
“You know what’s really sexy about this?” Beckett says.
I can’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t associate my capstone with the word sexy, but okay, I’ll bite. What’s sexy about this?”
“How hot you look when you talk about your work. I like it.” His voice is gruff.
Damn it. Every time he says stuff like that, I melt into a puddle at his feet.
I keep working while the guys watch the rest of the game, and after it ends, Beckett puts on that role-playing zombie game he likes while Will passes out on the sectional. Eventually, my eyelids start drooping, so I close the laptop and snuggle up against Beckett. He turns off his game and stretches out beside me, pulling me closer so I’m resting my head on his chest.
He doesn’t make a move to initiate anything physical. It’s late, past two in the morning, and we’re both content to cuddle on the couch, clothes on and genitals safely tucked away.
I reach under his hoodie and stroke his warm, hard flesh. Not in a sexual way. I just like touching him.
“Feels nice,” he mumbles.
Lying there with him, I think back to how annoying I found him last semester, how I believed he had such little substance, and guilt pricks at me.
“Beck?” I say softly.
“Mmm?”
“I misjudged you.”
“What?”
“Last semester. I thought you were a fuckboy.”
“I mean…” He shrugs, and I feel him smiling against my hair.
“And that you lacked substance,” I admit, then release an expletive when I realize how harsh that sounded. “I’m sorry. I just heard that out loud, and it sounds so shitty.”
He rolls onto his side so we’re facing each other, his eyes taking on a knowing gleam.
“Don’t apologize. You’re not the first to think that. Probably won’t be the last.” A wry smile tugs on the corners of his mouth. “People don’t take me seriously because I look like a blond surfer boy and sound like a dumb Australian. But that’s fine by me, actually. It gives me the upper hand. Catches them off guard when they realize I see a lot more than they think.”
“See what?”
“Them. I see people for who they are.”
“Yeah?” I stroke the beard growth on his face, and he sags into my touch for a moment. “Tell me what you see then.”
“Okay. Well…” He nods toward a sleeping Will, gravel thickening his voice. “Larsen, for example. He plays a role outside this house. The nice, unassuming good guy. The perfect gentleman.”
“And he’s not a gentleman?”
“No, he is. He can be. But he’s also got a filthy mouth. He’s an animal in bed. And he’s ruthless. Not like his dad—he wouldn’t crush someone to get ahead. But Will isn’t a pushover either. Push comes to shove, he’ll take what he wants. He’ll pick himself if it comes down to it.”