Alchemy and Algebra

Chapter 17

Kennedy found out what Charlie had meant by 'blue frosting' when he arrived at her apartment the following evening. When she heard the knock on her door, she eagerly pulled it open. Her smile froze briefly on her face and then she was overcome with a fit of giggles.

"Does this mean you really like it, or really don't?" Charlie asked. He ran his hand backwards through his hair, which had a brand-new, bright blue streak jetting back from his forehead.

"When did that happen?" Kennedy squeaked between giggles.

"Day before yesterday. I was hanging out with a friend and he asked me to help him dye his hair. He was doing this complicated multi-colored thing and needed a hand, literally. There was dye left over, so I asked if I could use a little. Et voila," he said, tipping his head down for Kennedy to get a closer look.

Kennedy didn't know if she liked it or not. It was a shock rather than an aesthetic thing. With his dark good looks and gypsy-flavored clothing, Charlie was already going to turn heads when she brought him to her math lecture. Would her thesis advisers be at the lecture? Would they think her less serious if she showed up with a guy with blue hair?

She put both hands in his hair, running them backwards through it, like he had. The blue hair felt different than the dark brown; coarser than his silky brown locks, but less wavy. Whatever else he'd put in his hair today smelled crisp and clean. She found herself moving closer to him until she was resting her forehead against his.

"I think blue is your color," she said.

Anyone who thought less of him for the color of his hair, or who thought less of her for walking in with someone with blue hair was not someone worth concerning herself with. And if her thesis panel judges were biased, they were bound to find bias somewhere else, like in the fact that Kennedy was a petite, soft-spoken blonde woman. Better to find out who she was dealing with sooner rather than later.

Charlie wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled her exposed neck. "The blue made me think of your eyes."

Kennedy tingled at his thoughtfulness, though she didn't think her eyes were nearly as bright as his hair dye.

She angled her mouth to his and kissed him lightly. "You are impossibly sweet."

He smiled his best carnal smile. "Yes, I am." He kissed her again, so light it was almost a pantomime of a kiss. "But only for you," he whispered.

Kennedy squeezed him hard, then released him. "You keep saying stuff like that and I'm going to make us miss the lecture."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

He patted her butt when she turned to get her jacket and bag, and she shot him a warning glance over her shoulder. She carried an actual purse in lieu of her usual backpack. Even if their plans had changed, it was still officially a date night. She had snuck a notebook and pen into her purse, though, just in case inspiration struck during the lecture.

Kennedy vibrated with excitement in the car on the way to the lecture hall, which was only a couple of minutes from her apartment. The combination of her proximity to Charlie and the prospect of the upcoming lecture had her in a place of happiness that a month ago she would only have found when she was elbow deep in quadratic variance functions of generalized linear models.

When they reached the lecture hall, they found the spacious room was packed to the aisles. Kennedy spotted Stacy, the friend who had told her about Mandelbrot's lecture, and waved at her as she and Charlie made their way to the back of the room, searching for seats. Stacy gave Kennedy a welcoming wave in return, and raised her eyebrows appreciatively when she spotted Charlie on Kennedy's heels.