Dating Texas (Discovering Me #3)

by Ann Maree Craven

  Diego didn’t respond. Sometimes, Killian wondered if his roommate even lived in the real world.

  2

  Diego

  “This is next-level disgusting.” Diego carefully placed the last pin correctly labeling the pig’s respiratory system. He needed AP biology on his college resume, but he questioned whether it was worth it. Honestly, he needed high marks on every possible science he could fit into his schedule, but dissecting a baby pig was the very last thing Diego Jackson ever wanted to do. It was inhumane, and he couldn’t help but wonder why someone hadn’t come up with a synthetic alternative. Anything would be better and much less gross than this pitiful creature.

  “At least it’s not a cat.” His lab partner, Van, poked their pig with a sharp utensil, trying to locate each lobe of the lungs. “Last term, the junior class got cats. Can you imagine?”

  “I saw them in the lab fridge. They really didn’t look like cute cuddly kittens.” Not that the pig was remotely cute either. “They were kind of terrifying. I didn’t open that fridge for the rest of the semester.”

  “I get the importance of studying from the real thing,” Van said, squealing as a stream of formaldehyde splattered across her safety goggles. “But this is never going to be my idea of a good time.”

  “Remember the frogs in ninth grade?” Diego scribbled his observations in their lab journal, labeling each of the respiratory parts without looking at his book or the pig. When it came to the sciences, Diego didn’t struggle like some students. It was in his blood.

  “You tried to lead a protest against using real animals for high school dissection exercises.” Van shook her head with a smirk. “You didn’t get very far.”

  “Hey, I’ve never been the leader type, but I got three students on my side. Four if we count you.”

  “And two of those girls just didn’t want to touch the frogs.”

  “I’m used to people not getting me now. I’ll keep my ‘save the world, save the animals’ ideas for my apps.”

  “How’s the new one coming?” Van sorted their tools and started cleaning their lab station.

  “It’s slow.” Diego sighed. “I’m tackling an enormous project all on my own, but it’ll be worth it if I can ever get it into beta testing.”

  “I still don’t get why you don’t just ask your dad for help.”

  “Dad’s more focused on saving the financial industry than the planet. He’s not going to be impressed with my little project.”

  “You should talk to him about it while you’re home for the holidays. Tell him it’s a project for your STEM club and you just want to pick his brain.”

  “I’m not going home.”

  “What? Why? You can come home with me if your dad’s not going to be around.”

  “It’s not that. I want to stay.”

  “Why?” Van wrinkled her nose. “Why would anyone want to stay on campus for Christmas? It’s not like this is Hogwarts.”

  “It’s three whole weeks of uninterrupted work. I wouldn’t give that opportunity up for anything. If I go home, Dad’s going to feel like we have to spend time together or go on some lame vacation. Here, I can just work without anyone bothering me.”

  “You have strange priorities, my friend.”

  “Vanessa, you can pack up for the day. You guys are done,” Mrs. Cone said. “Good job, both of you. I know this isn’t your thing. Diego, the headmistress would like to see you before your next class. You can head out early.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Cone.” Diego grabbed his things and headed to Headmistress Jones’ office. He was hoping she had good news for him.

  “Diego,” Mr. Wilson, the school secretary, greeted him as he entered the administrative office. “The headmistress is waiting for you.”

  “Thank you.” Diego shouldered his way into Georgina Jones’ office, dropping his bag at the entry.

  “Diego, have a seat.” She stood on top of her desk on her bare tiptoes, changing the light bulbs in the overhead fixture.

  “You know you could just call maintenance for that.” Diego ignored her offer and crossed the room to help her, knowing she’d refuse.

  “I’m picky about my bulbs. I need soft light, or it gives me a headache. There.” She finished screwing in the last bulb. “Well, if you aren’t going to sit, come, make yourself useful.” She gestured for him to stand next to her desk. She grabbed his shoulder and stepped down onto her chair and back on the floor where she slid her feet into her high heels. She still barely came up to Diego’s shoulder.

  “How’s the app coming?”

  Diego flopped into the chair opposite her desk. “It’s coming. It’s just slow.”

  “You can write code in your sleep. What’s slowing you down?”

  “The visual stuff.” He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t have the patience for it. I’m more into organizing and structuring the app than making it look nice. I’ll have to do it eventually, but right now, I’m avoiding it.”

  “Well, I might have a solution for that.” She sat behind her desk, shuffling through her files. “Ah, here it is. Since you’re staying on campus for the holidays, I had a genius thought to pair you with a mentor or sorts.”

  “A mentor? Here in Riverpass?” Diego just managed to hold back his snort, covering it with a cough.

  “Don’t be such a snob, Diego. Just because our school happens to be in a sleepy little town doesn’t mean greatness can’t come from outside these walls. There’s a graduate from Twin Rivers High who’s now a student at MIT.”

  Diego leaned closer. “MIT? Who is this guy?”

  “She is the local girl who created the hugely successful app, No Body Shame.”

  Even Diego had heard about the local girl’s success with the body positive app she’d created to give the students of Twin Rivers High a place to talk about all kinds of issues anonymously. Now, No BS was a huge hit in schools nationwide.

  “Peyton Callahan is a brilliant coder with a talent for the visual components you struggle with. She’s in Twin Rivers for the holidays and has agreed to mentor you for the rest of the year. You can get acquainted while she’s home, and if it’s a good fit, you can continue to work with her for as long as it’s mutually beneficial.”

  “And she’s willing?” Diego sat on the edge of his seat. Having an MIT student as a mentor was the best Christmas present he could ask for.

  “I’ve given her a pass to access the campus over the break. She’ll meet you this afternoon at the coffee shop in the quad. I know you’re not exactly a people person, but Peyton might be the nicest person I’ve ever talked to.”

  “I’ll make it work, Mrs. Jones. Thank you for setting this up.”

  “Just do me one favor, Diego.” She leaned over her desk.

  “Sure, anything, Mrs. Jones.”

  “Try to have some fun over break. I know you find great joy in your work, but don’t forget to live a little too.”

  “Soy milk vanilla latte with an extra shot.” Diego ordered his regular coffee. “And please use my cup.” He handed over his stainless-steel travel mug—complete with an annoyed look from the barista—and mentally calculated the points that would earn him once the app was in beta.

  Diego turned to scan the crowd at the coffee shop. He spotted Peyton sporting an MIT sweatshirt, looking out of place among the more fashionable Defiance Academy girls. He liked her already.

  Grabbing his coffee, he went to join her. He wasn’t exactly nervous with new people. He just wasn’t good at small talk, and most people either thought he was weird or rude.

  “Peyton?” He moved to sit opposite her.

  “Diego, it’s so nice to meet you,” she gushed.

  Ah, crap, she’s a talker.

  “Your headmistress has told me so much about you and your app. I designed my first app when I was in high school, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do. It didn’t really start to come together until I realized there was only so far I could take it on my ow
n. Once I knew I didn’t have the skill set to see it through to the end, it became more about what No BS needed and less about whether or not I did all the things or someone else did some of the things.”

  Peyton beamed a beautiful, happy, energetic smile at him, and Diego wondered what it was like to be friends with someone like her. Also, she looked at him like it was his turn to talk.

  “Oh, right.” Diego fidgeted in his chair and glanced at his phone. He was better through email and text messages. “I guess that’s where I am now with my app. I’m still making progress, but it’s slow.”

  “What’s it called?” Peyton leaned across the table, sipping her latte.

  “No idea. I can’t seem to land on a name I like.”

  “Tell me about it. Mrs. Jones told me a little, but I want to hear more about your vision and what needs to happen to get it there.”

  “It’s a habit trainer disguised as an adventure game. Players do small things to help the environment, and they earn diamonds to purchase key components to the game, which they’ll need to level up. There are even real-world prizes they can win based on the player’s overall points. The more beneficial an act is to the environment, the more diamonds they’ll earn.”

  “I love it.” Peyton grinned. “I would totally play that game. So, what kinds of tasks do players need to do?”

  “Little things like opting to have your morning latte in a reusable cup rather than a disposable one. Switching from plastic straws to stainless steel. Those kinds of tasks are worth ten to twenty-five diamonds and can add up over time when done daily. Bigger tasks like participating in a community cleanup or a recycling drive are worth tons of diamonds. Making real donations to climate change studies can earn a player huge in game rewards.”

  “How do gamers prove they’ve actually done these tasks?”

  “I’m working on a system that involves checking in on Facebook and uploading a selfie of gamers performing a task.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive. Is it working?”

  “Sort of.” Diego smiled. “I still have some bugs to work out before it will be ready to beta test.”

  “What are the most challenging parts for you?” Peyton sat back, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “The pretty stuff.” Diego shrugged. “I have the game set up with a rudimentary layout while I finish mapping out the levels of gameplay, but it’s not cute.”

  “I can help you with that. I can meet with you several times over the holidays to work out a basic visual plan, and then we can keep working on it after I head back to school. We can have this thing in beta before spring break.”

  “That would be amazing, Peyton. But are you sure? MIT is no joke. I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

  Peyton waved his concerns away. “I’m happy to mentor you and help with the visual stuff. That’s the easy part for me, and it’s the part I enjoy the most. Really, it’ll be like a break.”

  “Sounds incredible. Thank you so much.” Diego didn’t really know how to respond to such kindness. Peyton wouldn’t really get anything out of this arrangement.

  “Now, the important question.” Peyton eyed him with a serious look. “MIT or CalTech?”

  Diego laughed. “MIT all the way, and not just because it’s not California.”

  “Good answer. I’m looking forward to working with you, Diego.”

  “When do you have time to meet again?”

  “Thursday, and I have homework for you.” She slid a sheet of paper across the table.

  “Homework?” He tried not to smile. Diego had a small tribe of nerds and geeks who spoke his language, and they typically got him. Peyton was not like any of them, but he sensed she would still fit into his tribe. He skimmed the list of questions and to-do items she wanted from him. It was quite a list, and she wanted it in less than two days. But after reading her notes, one thing was clear. Peyton spoke his language.

  “All right, let’s do this.”

  3

  Killian

  Winter break. Finally. Killian’s last class ended the day before, and now, he just had to survive the next few weeks where the only person around was Diego.

  He preferred to be alone; he always had. Even when he lived at home with his mom and sisters, he’d seek refuge at the ranch with the horses, talking to them in a way he couldn’t talk to anyone else.

  In the two years he’d been at Defiance Academy, he’d made a habit of doing that same thing. He spent at lot of time at the stables on the northern edge of campus. Baby Girl wasn’t there—not like he’d ever admit to actually calling Jasmine that—and neither was the girl who loved her, but it was as close as he could get to home.

  Midwesterners didn’t tend to get the quiet Texan who always seemed to be on the edge of anger. They didn’t know his hard edges were all for show. But the horses did. He breathed a sigh of relief as he rounded the corner of the barn and inhaled the familiar scent of wood and manure.

  He passed the stall of Defiance Academy’s pride and joy, Duke. The massive black stallion won many awards year after year, but Killian had never been drawn to him.

  Instead, he continued down the row of stalls to Yara, a small mare with the most beautiful caramel mane.

  She turned her head up when she noticed him and settled her deep amber eyes on him. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his winter jacket, Killian stepped up to the door and peered through the bars. On another day, he’d consider taking Yara out for a ride.

  The first time he’d found the stables after he’d arrived at Defiance Academy as a sophomore, the horse trainers tried to kick him out. They didn’t let just any student near their prize-winning animals. But then Killian had come back again and again until they finally stopped asking him why he was there.

  The truth? Getting away from the rest of campus cleared the noise from his head in the same way standing in front of a hockey net did.

  “I’m sorry, girl.” Killian met Yara’s gaze. “I don’t think I could pull myself into the saddle today.”

  “Killian.” Andrea, the head trainer, rounded the corner, stopping when she saw him. A smile spread across her face. She pulled the gloves from her hands and lifted a bucket of grain to begin distributing it. “We haven’t seen you in a couple weeks. I assumed the snow scared you away.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve hit training pretty hard since everyone is leaving for break.”

  She nodded, knowing how much hockey meant to him. “Well, Yara has missed you. She told me herself.” She shot him a wink before resuming her work.

  Killian didn’t want to be missed even by a horse. Animals or people shouldn’t rely on him. It killed him whenever his sisters called because he felt he let them down by not being there, by choosing his own direction. “I’m not Yara’s rider.” Each horse was assigned to a student in the equestrian program, but not Killian. He couldn’t be when he was here on scholarship to play hockey. Yara had Devyn, a junior girl who rarely left a competition without a medal.

  Andrea laughed. “She likes you, Killian. Get over it. We all know you’re this broody nobody-likes-me guy, but horses are smarter than people anyway.”

  “I’m not broody.”

  She tried to hide her smile as she shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

  He gave her a long look before waving goodbye and pivoting on his heel. Broody. He wasn’t broody. And some people liked him. Just ask Rory. Okay, she was six, but she still counted.

  He trod through the snowy field separating the stables from the rest of campus. By the time he made it to the quad, he was almost late for the meeting.

  Headmistress Jones sent an email to all students staying on campus over break, telling them their presence was required in the coffee shop on the quad at four. Killian had been through this before. She’d give them rules about partying and allowing non-Defiance kids on campus, but he didn’t need the speech. Social crap wasn’t really his cup of tea.

  Outside the coffee shop, Kenny
sat at a snow-covered picnic table talking to someone on the phone. A wide smile stretched across his face, which could only mean one thing.

  He was talking to Asher Brooks, his boyfriend and also son of the president of the United States. Yep, Killian went to that kind of school. The kind where kids were media magnets. But Kenny was an okay guy, and they’d become sort of friends.

  He ended his call as Killian walked up.

  “Hey, man, how’s the shoulder?”

  Killian grimaced. “It’s been better.”

  Standing, Kenny went to pat Killian on the injured shoulder like it was habit then thought better of it and pulled his hand away. “I tore my rotator cuff when I was younger. Had to wear this sling thing that attached to my waist, so I couldn’t move my arm. It was awful. You’re lucky it’s just a sprain.”

  He was. Killian knew that. But he still hated that he’d had to leave the game. He let his team down. Looking from the coffee shop door to Kenny, Killian lifted a brow. “You’re staying over break?”

  One corner of Kenny’s mouth quirked up. “My dad and I are working on our relationship, but it tends to be better if we only spend small amounts of time together at once.” He laughed, but Killian had a hard time seeing the humor in that. He’d seen how hard it was for Kenny after letting the world know he was dating Asher.

  “I’m sorry, man.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t really want the media attention of going to Washington for Christmas at the White House, but I’ll do pretty much anything to see Asher, so I’m heading there for a few days closer to the actual holiday. He’s coming here before that. If there’s one thing this school does well, it’s keeping reporters away.”

  “Some of us keep the reporters away ourselves by being boring.”

  Kenny laughed at that. “I could use some boring. Since we’ll both be around campus, we’ll have to hang. Your roommate is staying too, right? I saw him waiting for the meeting to start.”