Two women in a cozy study space; one writes in a notebook

**Beauty And The Geek** I’d been pretending to revise for the better part of an hour, which mostly meant peering over my glasses at the same sentence and trying not to think about Emily’s dimples. She’d wandered into the box room we all grandly called the study without knocking, as usual. Her hand settled on my shoulder. I turned. "Are you actually working," she asked, "or just trying to look tragic and intellectual?" I snorted, which rather ruined any chance of appearing remotely alluring. "Bit of both." She smiled—that smile—and I had the distinct sense she knew exactly what she was doing to me. "You know this is one of the reasons I fancy you, don’t you?" "My thrilling relationship with coursework?" Her smile widened. "That, and the way you wrinkle your nose when you’re thinking." I laughed, and her thumb moved, just slightly, against my shoulder. "You’re doing it now," she murmured, leaning closer, her mouth near my ear. "Doing what?" "That thing with your nose when you’re thinking." Emily leaned closer still. I could feel her breath against my skin, and the pen slipped from my fingers. "I was thinking of distracting you properly," she said, her voice softer, almost mischievous. "Like last night?" I managed. Emily grinned once more. "I was hoping you’d remember."