Chapter 18

The weather had turned warm again, so Lori sat outside at a picnic table near the campus cafeteria, eating her lunch. She munched on a carrot stick, trying to reassure herself that she'd made the right decision regarding Eric.

"Wake up, Lori. You're a million miles away." The deep bass voice was fondly teasing.

Lori looked up and smiled. "Ben! Where were you all weekend?"

Her downstairs neighbor smiled widely and plunked his lunch tray down across from hers. "Went to visit my Dad," he told her. "He's out of the hospital now and settling in at home with the nurse."

"That's great," she replied sincerely. "Still causing trouble?"

Ben Montoya nodded. His father Raul was way too crotchety to let a little thing like cancer get him down for long. Lori had met the older man once when he'd visited Ben about a year ago and instantly adored Raul Montoya's teasing Latin charm.

"So how was your weekend?" Ben asked, digging into his chef's salad, which made Lori feel instantly guilty for her submarine sandwich and all its calories.

Lori shuddered. "Weird."

Wise dark eyes probed deeply. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. Why couldn't she have fallen for a great, good-looking guy like Ben? His dark coloring and tall, rugged build were the stuff of any girl's dreams and he was probably the most sensitive man she'd ever met. He was a Ph.D. student doing a dissertation on western European folklore, but he was actually a few years older than Lori, having served in the military until a knee injury had necessitated an early retirement. Unfortunately, Lori's affection for him was strictly friendly, as was his for her. Besides, from the moment they'd met, Ben had been completely hung up on Wesley Iversen.

"Lori?"

"I had a date Saturday night," she began slowly.

Ben's black eyes hooded intently and his muscles went rigid. "Did he hurt you?"

"No!" Lori was shocked at the idea, but touched that her friend would so swiftly spring to her defense. She grinned a little at the thought of siccing Ben on Eric, but discounted it. Ben had been a member of the Special Forces. Eric wouldn't stand a chance and she really didn't want to see him physically injured.

Ben had relaxed a little when Lori grinned, so she reluctantly told him the whole story, starting with the lizard in the tunnels and ending with Sunday's phone call. Ben listened in silent empathy.

"Sounds like you're really interested in him. Why not see where it takes you?"

Lori made a face at Ben. "I told you, I don't have time for this now," she reminded him. "It's too distracting."

Ben shook his head. "Distractions can be good, you know. Don't let your experience with the slime ball warp you for life." Lori had discovered only after she'd broken up with Warren that Ben had despised him as much as Wesley had. In retrospect, she realized that the antipathy he'd generated in her two closest friends ought to have told her something. "Life is short. If you see a chance for happiness, even for a little while, grab it with both hands and don't let go." Ben had been widowed, early in his military career. He didn't talk about it much, but Lori knew he had genuinely loved his young wife and had mourned her death in a car accident on the Autobahn for a long time.

"Which explains why you spend most of your Saturday nights doing laundry with me," she retorted gently.

Ben grinned. "No, my problem is entirely different. I know what I want, but I do draw the line at abducting unwilling females." His voice was full of dry humor. "How is Wesley, anyway?"

Lori smiled. "Stubborn and blind, as usual. Terrified of any relationship that feels too serious."

Ben stared pointedly. "Sound familiar?"

Lori flushed. "I suppose so," she conceded. "I don't know about serious, it's awfully early for that, but I know I can't get this guy out of my mind."

"You're a scientist," Ben said. "What's the process for dealing with unresolved questions?"

"Standard scientific method, straight out of Bio 101, formulate a hypothesis, test it in a controlled setting, analyze the results, and finally, draw conclusions," she answered wryly. "Hypothesis, I am seriously attracted to Eric Gordon."

Her friend laughed. "That's not a hypothesis, that's a given. Try this one. 'If they open their minds and hearts to the possibility, Lori and Eric could have a mutually enjoyable relationship.' It's not a bad starting place. Then you experiment, see if it could be true."

Lori nibbled on her lip. "Fair enough, I suppose. I'm just not sure that I'm up to this right now. Maybe it's too soon after the whole Warren debacle."

Ben reached over and touched her cheek. "So think about it, but not for too long. Follow your heart, amiga. It's got good instincts."

They finished their lunches quietly, enjoying the sunny spring day and each other's undemanding company.

At the table behind Ben Montoya, another man sat, seething. He'd overheard the whole conversation. Someone had seen the reptile and someone was getting far too close to breaking the WYRM virus.

This shouldn't be happening. His plan was too perfect to be derailed by a couple of science geeks.

It was bad enough that the interfering Professor Gordon had to stick his nose into things that shouldn't concern him, but now some little bitch from Biology was helping.

A nasty grin spread across the man's face. He'd just see about that, he decided. There were a lot of ways to deal with nosy bitches and high-and-mighty systems analysts. In a few days they'd be off his back, or they'd seriously regret it.