“You’re way cooler like this,” Rosemary observed, cheeks pink. “I actually understand now. And it’s kind of fun almost.”
“Thanks.” Pike felt cooler like this too, like he was actually, finally teaching something. “It should be fun.”
They chatted a bit more before Rosemary had to get to a writing class, her telling him about a math test she had coming up for a promotion at her bank customer service job and Pike offering her a few pointers. He was still basking in the weird glow of feeling like a semi-successful teacher when his personal cell rang.
Hector at War Elf? Pike had to do a double take at the screen. He hadn’t heard from his contact at the video game since the spring when he’d reported that despite loving Pike’s dissertation work, they didn’t have any paid positions opening.
“Hey, Hector.” He kept his voice cautious.
“Pike, my man, do I ever have good news for you!” Hector had a jovial voice and a warm persona totally suitable to the head of marketing and market research for the hugely popular game. “My lead market research analyst is moving on to another job—bad news for us—but I’d love to get your resumé in here, show it to the big guys, see how they feel about flying you up to Palo Alto for an interview.”
Damn. This was certainly the week for his resumé. “That sounds great. But I’m teaching right now—I’d need to at least finish the term out, which would put me at early December for a start date. I could probably come up sooner for an interview, though.”
Hector let out a huff, but his voice was pleasant as ever. “That’s fine. We could probably work with that. You’re a catch. Email me your most current resumé today if you can?”
“Will do.” Pike ended the call with a few more questions about the opening and some pleasantries about Hector’s life. He’d known him through the last several years of his dissertation work, so even if Pike was still a bit salty about a job not materializing when he’d needed it, he still felt friendly.
You’re a catch. He was, wasn’t he? Professor Hu thought so, at least, despite him flopping around like a tuna in a net when it came to teaching. And Hector clearly still respected him. But does Zack? That was what it came down to, wasn’t it? Did Zack respect him enough, value him enough to want to be a real couple?
Zack’s going to hate hearing about the War Elf job. That thought harshed the pleasant buzz about how he was a math god. Would Zack really care? Did he really want Pike and all the complications close by permanently? And how would Pike feel if he turned down War Elf, and he and Zack hit the rocks that constantly seemed to threaten their tied-together little craft?
Fuck. He didn’t know. He fingered his phone. And the person he most wanted to tell his news to, the one he wanted to sort all this out with, was a million miles away. He could send a text, but no way was he mentioning War Elf until Zack was back, safe and sound.
* * *
There was nothing quite like being out in the field. Zack’s adrenaline had been high for days as they worked in the jungle to accomplish a set of tasks on the training mission. This was the closest he’d come so far to a real mission, and other than constant, gnawing worry that made his gut ache, he was loving it. The island was full of lush, dense green plants and sheer granite cliff drops made for perfecting rappelling skills. And lots and lots of swamps inland for them to wade through, which while less fun than the rappelling, let Zack use his superior navigational skills to help the team.
“You need to eat more.” Morrison poked Zack as he stood at the edge of their base camp, trying to get some water down to stay hydrated. He’d been sweating something fierce all day. Might be only training, but they had full jungle camo on, including the greasy face paint that made him sweat even more. But ever since the night the cat got sick, he simply hadn’t been very hungry. Food tasted off, and the weight of it in his stomach made his gut hurt worse. Even water was making him nauseated. Damn heat.
“I’m fine.” And Zack might love this exercise even more if Morrison hadn’t decided to make himself Zack’s new mother, constantly on him to eat and drink. Which was all well and good, but coupled with the argument on the plane only seemed to inflame Cobb’s temper more. Apparently even the possibility of Zack making an ally on the team had Cobb needling him every time they got alone—which Zack was trying like hell to avoid.