Chapter 31: Celestial Navigation

E L L I E

I walk out of the girl's bathroom and crash right into him.

"Whoa! Careful!"

Maddox... lurking right outside the bathroom door. We collide and I go sprawling, but his hand lands on my shoulder to keep me upright.

I swear I'm not usually this accident prone. Only when Maddox is nearby. Maybe I should make a hazard alert for him.

Better set the distance parameter for at least 100 feet to be on the safe side. Although 100 feet wouldn't be much help to me right now. As I regain my footing, there's approximately half an inch of space between my face and the front of Maddox's shirt. Which means if I look up, his head will be right there... His eyes. His nose. His lips...

I take a hasty step backward.

"Come with me." His hand is still on my shoulder. It slides down the length of my arm to my wrist, sending sparks of heat rippling through me as it goes. He tugs me in the direction of the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I turn to follow him. For a moment, I think he might hold my hand, but he lets my wrist go as he turns toward the library's central staircase.

"Change of venue," he says over his shoulder. "This way."

He reaches the bottom landing and then his hand reaches for mine again. This time our palms meet and our fingers interlock. A thrill of electricity runs through me. He turns his head back, but he doesn't look at me. His gaze tracks over my shoulder, looking to see if anyone's watching us.

Somehow that only makes my heart beat faster and my hand grip his more firmly.

"Come on." He pulls me toward the stacks, leading me through a maze of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I break into a jog to keep up with his long strides.

"Where are we going?"

"Celestial navigation."

Um. Was that answer supposed to mean something? I mean, this library has a ton of skylights, but I'm pretty sure we can't see any stars in the middle of the day.

He pulls to an abrupt stop, and I crash into him again. This time, I'm pretty sure he made me do it on purpose. His arm goes round my waist. I reach for the nearest shelf to regain my balance, and find myself face to face with rows of book spines.

By the Stars: A Workbook

Navigation for Beginners

Celestial Navigation in the GPS Era

Fundamentals of Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen

Yachtsmen, huh. "Are we going yachting?" I ask, pulling that last one off the shelf.

He shrugs and takes the book away from me. "Nah. I parked my yacht on the other side of campus."

"So why are we in this section?"

I can't imagine how anything in these books might be relevant to our project.

"Dead spot," he says by way of explanation. "No cameras in range of this shelf."

Wow. Should I be alarmed by the fact that he knows that?

"So..." He shifts uncomfortably. "We need to talk."

I nod. "I thought we were having a group meeting."

He ignores me, slouching against a bookshelf with his hands in the pockets of his perfectly creased khakis.  "What were you just talking about with those girls?"

"Who?"

"Celeste and Miranda. In the bathroom. I heard you talking."

My eyes fly open wide. "You were eavesdropping?"

He smiles at me and cocks his head. "If I were eavesdropping, then I wouldn't have to ask you what you were talking about. Would I?"

I suppose that's true. But still. A little creepy, Maddox... "Maybe I should go back," I say, shuffling a half-step away from him. 

He grabs my wrist. "Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry. This is coming out wrong."

"I don't understand."

"I just need to know if you told them about..." He points back and forth between our chests. "This. You and me."

"Is there a 'this'?" I ask, mimicking his gesture.

He bites his lip. Somehow, his hand finds mine again. His thumb runs along my palm, sending off little fireworks in the pit of my stomach. "I would like there to be."

"OK, then—"

"But I need you not to tell anyone."

I pause a beat and frown. Something tells me this is not how the typical conversation goes when a boy expresses romantic interest in a girl. Not that I would know anything about that, but still... "You mean so your real girlfriend doesn't find out?"

He sighs. "She's not my real girlfriend. She's my ex. And she already knows. That's why you can't tell anyone."

I should let go of his hand. I can't stop staring at his thumb, tracing circles on my palm. "You understand how sketchy this all seems, right?"

"I know. I'm sorry. Eleanor's being... weird. Weirder than usual."

"So? You either care what she thinks or you don't. Which is it?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"Is it?"

I retrieve my hand and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I don't like this. I shouldn't go along with it. Something about it feels icky. I may be surrounded by books for yachtsmen, but I have no idea how to navigate this ship.

This isn't how this conversation is supposed to go! It shouldn't feel so scary. So confusing. I meet his eyes uncertainly, and Maddox takes my hand again. Every time he does that, I forget all the reasons why I should turn back.

He dips his head and looks into my face. "I like you, Ellie."

I stare back, a million unspoken questions on my lips.

"You like me back," he whispers. "I know you do."

True. That much is obvious, and I'm not enough of an actress to hide it from him. But if he really wants this Maddox/Ellie ship to sail, I've got a few questions that he's going to have to answer. Like, for example, why? Why would someone like him be interested in someone like me? Why would someone with a girlfriend as incredible as Eleanor Winthrop want a girl as ordinary as Eleanor Sandberg?

A confident person wouldn't feel that way, but I can't help it. At least I'm not quite pathetic enough to utter that question out loud. But somehow he sees my doubts written on my face.

"Don't do that," he says.

"Do what?"

"Compare yourself."

"It's kind of unavoidable, isn't it?"

"The two of you couldn't be more different."

"Gee, thanks."

He's so close now, his forehead grazes mine. I'm staring at his lips. "I mean that as a compliment," he murmurs.

I close my eyes. I want to believe him, but I'm not stupid. It doesn't add up. Eleanor Winthrop... She's smart. She's rich. She's popular. She's probably the prettiest girl here. "She's perfect," I whisper.

He shakes his head. His hands are on either side of my face. His thumbs play with the whisps of hair that escaped my ponytail. "I disagree."

"I have eyes, Maddox."

"I know. I like your eyes."

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"I mean I'm not clueless. I have a brain."

"I like your brain, too." He smiles.

Oh God, why does his smile have to do that to me? I'm having a hard time making my brain operate at the moment. Is he going to kiss me? For real this time? I'm pretty sure he would if I closed my eyes and tipped back my head.

But should I? Do I dare?

He let's go of my face, and turns his head away. "Shhhh," he whispers. "Someone's coming."

He grabs a book and heads back toward to the main staircase. My heart is in my throat as I stumble after him. We emerge from between the shelves and nearly run smack into Dr. Carlyle.

The program director looks back and forth between us. I can tell from his face that he's suspicious. Obviously, Maddox isn't the only one who knows about the so-called 'dead spot.' Dr. Carlyle peers at us for a moment through his wire-rimmed glasses. "Everything OK, you two?"

"Great. Just doing some research. Ellie's mapping algorithm still needs a little tweak, so..." Maddox hands the book he's holding to me, and I look down at the cover.

Celestial Navigation in the GPS Era

Well, that's not incriminating at all.

There's no way Dr. Carlyle's buying it. He tilts his head to the side, shooting us a tight-lipped grin. Something tells me he knows exactly what the Celestial Navigation section signifies, and the reason why the students of Winthrop Academy have such a keen interest in the topic...

"You can look at that upstairs," he says at last, with a gruff nod toward the volume in my hands. "But leave it on a cart when you're finished. The stacks are off-limits for the summer."

"Oh," I stammer. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"My bad," Maddox says. He guides me by the elbow toward the staircase. "Won't happen again."

Dr. Carlyle's voice stops us before we reach the first step. "Have you two seen Ms. Winthrop?"

I stumble, nearly tripping. Maddox's back goes straight. He turns around. "Eleanor?"

"Her mother's looking for her."

Maddox answers, and I detect a slight tremor in his voice. "I thought Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop weren't coming until Maker Fair."

"No, no," Dr. Carlyle replies. "On the phone. Tell Eleanor to give her parents a call if you see her, will you?"

"You got it, Dr. C." The tension relaxes from Maddox's shoulders, and he tosses a quick salute. "We'll let her know."

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