Intermediate Thermodynamics: A Romantic Comedy (Chemistry Lessons Book 2) Read online

  She set the glasses and OJ down on a rusty metal table in the shade. While Jinny dragged one of the lounge chairs closer to the table, Esther filled the two glasses half full with champagne and topped them off with orange juice. She passed one to Jinny. “Do you want him back?”

  Jinny accepted the glass, avoiding Esther’s eyes as she settled into the lounge chair. “We were together for six months. I love him.”

  “Enough to forgive him for cheating?”

  Jinny looked down at her lap, frowning as she rearranged her skirt over her legs. “Did I tell you he cried when I broke up with him?”

  “No.” Good. The asshole deserved to cry. Esther hoped he cried himself to sleep every goddamn night.

  “Yeah, I almost felt bad.”

  “Don’t you dare feel bad. He cheated on you. Also, he was a jerk.”

  Jinny tugged the hair elastic off her wrist and fastened her shoulder-length black hair into a ponytail. “He wasn’t that bad.”

  Esther stared at her over the top of her champagne flute. “He missed your birthday to go surfing in Mexico.”

  “That was one time. And he felt really bad about it.”

  “He didn’t do anything for you for Valentine’s Day either. And when he won those free concert tickets, he took one of his surfing buddies instead of you.”

  Jinny sighed and sipped her mimosa. “Yeah, okay. He kind of sucked.”

  At least she was admitting it. Esther slipped off her flip-flops and pulled another chair closer so she could put her feet up on it. Her stocky legs were cadaverously pale, an effect that was only enhanced by the blue polish on her toes. “You can do so much better,” she said, pulling her sunglasses down over her eyes.

  Jinny scowled as she fished a magazine out of her tote bag. “That remains to be seen.”

  For such a beautiful, awesome person, Jinny had crazy low self-esteem. It didn’t help that Stuart had zeroed in on her insecurities with expert precision, feeding them for his own purposes. She hadn’t been able to see how badly he treated her, because on some level she didn’t seem to believe she deserved to be treated better.

  Esther really hated that guy. “You were always way too good for him. Honestly, I never understood what you saw in him.”

  Jinny peered at her over the top of her sunglasses. “Um, he’s a total hottie?”

  “You are a hottie, friend. You basically had nothing in common, beyond the fact that you’re both good-looking.”

  “We both work in tech fields.”

  Esther snorted into her mimosa. “The Apple Store does not count as a tech field.”

  “He totally fixed my iPad!”

  “He’s into all this outdoorsy stuff like cycling and hiking and camping, and you hate the outdoors.”

  “I don’t hate the outdoors.” Jinny waved her hand, encompassing the courtyard around them. “I’m outdoors right now.”

  “Lounging by a pool drinking mimosas does not count as outdoorsy.”

  “Whatever.”

  “All I’m saying is don’t go for second best, baby.”

  Jinny raised her sunglasses and squinted at her. “Are you quoting Madonna at me right now?”

  “It’s a very appropriate song. Madge knows what’s up.”

  “Your buddy Madge was married to Sean Penn, so let’s not pretend her judgment is infallible.”

  A door slammed overhead, and they both glanced up as Jonathan came out of his apartment. Awesome. How many times was Esther going to see this guy today?

  His footfalls echoed around the courtyard as he plodded down the stairs. When he saw them, he halted and offered a half-hearted nod. “Hey.”

  Esther nodded back, just as half-heartedly.

  “Hi!” Jinny called out, waving.

  Jonathan nodded again, plunged his hands into his pockets, and continued on to his car.

  Esther had never once seen the guy smile. The closest he’d ever come was a pained sort of grimace.

  “He’s cute,” Jinny whispered when he was out of sight.

  Esther gave her a sidelong glance. “Who?”

  “Him. Your neighbor. Whatshisname.”

  “Jonathan? Ugh. No. He’s not.” Pretentious, beanie-clad, farmer’s-market-shopping hipsters weren’t Esther’s type. Objectively, she supposed he might be considered attractive—so long as he didn’t open his mouth and start talking. He was just so damn annoying, it was impossible to separate his looks from his personality.

  “Yeah, he is,” Jinny insisted. “He looks like a young Jake Gyllenhaal. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

  “He does not look like Jake Gyllenhaal.” Esther didn’t even like Jake Gyllenhaal, but she felt this was an unfair aspersion against him that required her defense.

  “Come on, he’s got that great, thick, wavy dark hair—”

  “Which is always covered by those dumb beanies he wears.”

  Jinny sniffed. “I like a man in a beanie.”

  Of course she does. Stuart wore beanies all the time. So did half the men in LA under thirty, but still. Esther felt justified in her loathing of them.

  “Plus, he’s got those soulful blue eyes,” Jinny added.

  Soulful? What was she talking about? Esther wrinkled her nose. “You can’t even tell what his eyes look like under those hipster glasses.”

  “I love those glasses! Guys in glasses are super hot. Oh!” Jinny reached over and smacked Esther on the arm. “You know who else he looks like? Dev Patel.”

  Esther stared at her. “Dev Patel is Indian.”

  “I know that. Duh.”

  “And looks nothing like Jake Gyllenhaal or Jonathan, both of whom are white.”

  Jinny laid her magazine aside and leaned back, crossing her legs. “It’s the hair. Jonathan has the same great hair Dev Patel has. The kind you want to run your fingers through.” She wiggled her fingers for emphasis. “And that beard. God, I love a beard.”

  Stuart had a beard. Although his hair was golden brown instead of Jonathan’s darker, almost-black-brown.

  Esther’s eyes narrowed as she tried to decide whether Jinny was actually interested in Jonathan or projecting Stuart onto him. “How long have you felt this way about my neighbor?”

  Jinny shrugged and reached for her mimosa. “I’ve always thought he was cute.” Her phone vibrated beside her, and she picked it up. “Ugh. I wish Stuart would just leave me alone.”

  Esther frowned. “What does he want?”

  Jinny set her phone down without replying. “Forgiveness. Reconciliation. More sex. Take your pick.”

  “I’m telling you, you should get a restraining order.”

  “Thanks, your honor, but I don’t need a restraining order. It’s just Stuart.”

  Stuart, who’d been gaslighting Jinny for the better part of six months. Who had her convinced she was dating above her level and should be grateful for his half-assed attentions. Who steered her around like a child.

  Esther eyed her suspiciously. “You’re considering it, aren’t you? Taking him back.”

  Jinny didn’t say anything.

  Jonathan reappeared in the courtyard with a forty-pound bag of mulch balanced on his shoulder. He skirted around the edge of the pool and dumped it onto the ground by Esther’s chair, next to a bed of freshly planted begonias.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, peering at him over her sunglasses.

  “Mrs. Boorstein asked me to pick up some mulch for the new plantings.” He wiped his hands on his jeans and headed back toward the carport.

  Jinny leaned over and smacked Esther on the arm again. “He helps little old ladies with gardening? That is so sweet!”

  Esther wasn’t sure Mrs. Boorstein would appreciate being called a little old lady, but she had to agree it was kind of sweet.

  They heard the sound of a trunk slamming, and Jonathan reappeared with another bag of mulch hoisted on his shoulder. He dropped it next to the first one, then bent over to slide it a few feet to the left, spacing them out at eit
her end of the bed.

  His backside was right in Esther’s eyeline, and she had to admit it wasn’t the worst view she’d ever seen. Fine. So he had a decent body. He irritates the hell out of you, remember?

  Jinny smacked her on the arm a third time and Esther jerked her gaze away, flushing slightly.

  “Nice ass,” Jinny mouthed silently, tilting her head in Jonathan’s direction.

  Esther shook her head, recovering herself enough to roll her eyes. “I didn’t know you helped with the gardening,” she said when Jonathan straightened, removing his ass from her field of vision.

  “Just with the heavy stuff. Mrs. B doesn’t trust me to touch the plants.” He reached up to brush a piece of mulch off his shoulder. “She said she’d be down in a bit to spread the mulch. Will you tell her I’ll be upstairs if she needs any more help?”

  There was another piece of mulch caught in his beard. Esther considered pointing it out to him, but decided against it. “Sure,” she said.

  He gave another nod and shuffled off, up the stairs and into his apartment.

  Jinny’s phone vibrated with another text message. She picked it up and stared at the screen, frowning.

  “Stuart again?” Esther asked with a feeling of unease.

  “Yeah.” Jinny powered the phone off and shoved it inside her tote.

  “You should ask Jonathan out,” Esther said.

  Jinny gave her a quizzical look. “I thought you hated him.”

  “I didn’t say I should date him. You’re the one who thinks he’s cute.” He might be annoying, but as far as Esther could tell, he wasn’t a manipulative bastard. He’d definitely be an upgrade from Stuart.

  Jinny shook her head. “I’m not asking him out.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he doesn’t even know who I am. I’m not walking up to a total stranger and asking him out on a date.”

  “I could set you two up.”

  Jinny’s expression darkened. “Don’t you dare. You know how I feel about blind dates.” She’d spent her high school years only being allowed to go on dates arranged by her mother, and it had permanently soured her on being fixed up.

  The timer on Esther’s phone went off, and she fished it out of her pocket to silence it. “Gotta grab my laundry.” She stood up and pointed her phone at Jinny. “You know what he looks like, so it wouldn’t be a blind date.”

  “Arranged dates. Whatever.” Jinny made a face. “You can’t force love. You have to let it find you.”

  Esther rolled her eyes as she headed to the laundry room. “If you say so.”

  Jinny was a romantic, but Esther didn’t buy into any of that crap. She didn’t believe in fate or love at first sight or happily-ever-afters. There was no such thing as soul mates, no fairy godparents watching over anyone, and no prince coming to sweep you off your feet. She reserved her faith for things that could measured with empirical evidence and behaved predictably, according to the laws of nature.

  Fairy tales were all well and good in books, but it was dangerous to put your faith in fiction. Look what had happened to Esther’s mother. She’d thought she was living a perfect, fairy-tale life until her prince had up and left her, and she’d been completely unprepared to cope with reality. Fifteen years later, she was still drifting along, waiting for the next prince to show up and save her.

  Forget princes. You had to make your own luck in life. If you wanted something, you couldn’t sit back and wait for it to fall into your lap. You had to go out and make it happen.

  Chapter Three

  Two days later, Jinny was still waffling on Stuart. Esther knew she was still texting with him. Who knew how much longer she’d be able to hold out with Stuart wheedling her and tempting her with the power of his magical dick? Esther had a sinking feeling they’d be back together by the weekend.

  She’d been racking her brain for a way to keep them apart, but so far she’d come up empty. If she pushed too hard, Jinny might get pissed and dig her heels in. That was what had happened the last time Esther had tried to talk some sense into her about Stuart. It needed to be handled delicately—and quickly, before it was too late.

  Esther was still musing on it when she got home from work on Wednesday. As she walked past Jonathan’s apartment, she heard his deadbolt unlock and quickened her steps, digging around in her bag for her keys. Maybe she could get inside before he came out and tried to start up another conversation—

  “Hey,” he said, stepping out of his apartment behind her.

  Dammit.

  Esther threw a polite smile over her shoulder. “Hi.”

  Was it too much to hope that he had somewhere to be and no interest in chatting? She fumbled for the key on her key ring and shoved it into the lock.

  “Hey, I’ve got something for you,” he said.

  She froze with her hand on the doorknob. So close.

  Pasting a smile on her face, she turned around. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Hang on,” he said, holding up a finger, and disappeared inside his apartment.

  Great. What was this about? She couldn’t think of anything he might have that she wanted. And how long was she supposed to stand out here in the breezeway waiting on him anyway? All she wanted to do was go inside her apartment, kick off her clunky oxfords, peel off the tights she’d been wearing all day, and drink a beer. Was that too much to ask at the end of a long, annoying work day?

  He had another five seconds, and then she was going inside.

  Five…four…three…two…

  Jonathan reappeared, holding a handful of envelopes and a magazine. “Here, the mailman put some of your stuff in my box by mistake.”

  Oh. He was actually being neighborly.

  “Thanks.” Feeling a little ashamed, Esther shuffled forward to accept the mislaid mail. She’d been wondering where this month’s Astronomy magazine had gotten to. It was nice of him to hang on to her mail for her; plenty of assholes would have dumped it in the trash to save themselves the trouble of redelivering it.

  “Not exactly light reading.” He shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “Are you like an astronomer or something?”

  “Aerospace engineer. Astronomy’s just for fun.”

  He nodded. “That’s cool. You must know a lot of science, then.”

  “A little, yeah.”

  He nodded again and shifted his weight. “Could I ask you favor?”

  Nooooo.

  “So, you know how I’m a screenwriter…”

  Please, no.

  “I’ve been working on this sci-fi script for one of my classes, and I’ve got the essence of the story all laid out, but I could really use some help with the science aspects. Just to make it more realistic—well, not realistic, exactly, but plausible, at least.”

  Why was she being punished? What had she ever done to deserve this?

  “Would you mind taking a look at it for me? And maybe giving me some notes? Just on the science part. What do you say?”

  Shit. Was there any way to get out of this without being rude? “I don’t really know anything about writing movies,” she hedged. “Isn’t there someone in your program…?”

  He shook his head. “You don’t need to know anything about screenwriting, I’ve got that covered. But the only person I know with any science under their belt is my buddy Greg, who was pre-med for a semester before he switched to English. He’s shit with physics though, and I need someone who knows about things like gravity and propulsion and asteroids. That’s you, right?”

  Esther swallowed. “Um…” She felt her phone vibrate in her bag—thank god, an interruption. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I just need to check…”

  It was a text from Jinny: Stuart’s begging me to take him back. Tell me not to get back together with him.

  “One sec,” Esther said to Jonathan, mashing her thumbs against the screen as she typed her reply.

  DO NOT GET BACK TOGETHER WITH CHEATING JERKFACE STU.

  “Everything okay?” Jona
than asked.

  “Yeah. Just trying to avert a catastrophe.” Esther looked up from her phone, into Jonathan’s eyes.

  His soulful eyes.

  Jinny thought he was cute. Jinny liked him.

  If he asked her out, she’d say yes. And if she went out with him, maybe she’d forget about Stuart. She’d remember there were other men in the world, and she didn’t have to settle for one who was an asshole.

  Jonathan was awkward and a little irritating, sure, but he actually seemed pretty nice. She’d never seen him say or do anything purposefully unkind, and he didn’t have the social skills to be manipulative. A lot of his mansplaining seemed to be his clumsy way of trying to be helpful, which could be considered sort of sweet from a certain perspective. He was the kind of guy who helped old ladies with gardening. How bad could he be?

  “So, about my script…” Jonathan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “I’ll do it if you do something for me,” Esther told him.

  His eyebrows scrunched together. “Okaaay. What?”

  “You have to ask my friend Jinny out.”

  His mouth opened and then closed again. His eyebrows had joined into a solid stripe, like a dark, furry caterpillar. “Um…”

  “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

  “No, but—”

  “Jinny’s really nice and totally normal and beautiful.” This was all true. Socially awkward writer boy would be lucky to go out with someone as great as Jinny. And it would do Jinny good to date a guy as nice as Jonathan seemed to be.

  He looked skeptical. “Then why does she need you to get dates for her?”

  “Because she just broke up with a jerk and I’m afraid she’s going to take him back.”

  “Isn’t that her choice to make?”

  A noble sentiment, but this was a desperate situation that called for desperate measures. “I’m not trying to take away her choice. I’m trying to give her another choice. To show her there are other guys out there who like her, and she doesn’t have to date a creep.” Esther narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not a creep, are you?”