One of my favorite books this year has been the Elements of Chemistry series by the fabulously funny Penny Reid. I just had a blast reading it. I felt good… happy. It was the kind of experience that made me laugh and giggle, smile and swoon. It had it all! If you haven’t read it, you need to stop right now and one-click this right here, because as of today, you can get all three installments in one bundled set! And this morning, I’m super honored to host an extra scene in Martin’s POV!!! I loved it! So deliciously dirty-minded Martin! Read on, friends!
โฆ Elements of Chemistry (1-3): Amazonย | Barnes & Noble | iBooksย โฆ
Attraction
One week.
Private beach.
Invisible girl.
Jerk-faced bully.
Whatโs the worst that could happen?
Kaitlyn Parker has no problem being the invisible girl, which is why she finds herself hiding in various cabinets and closets all over her college campus. Despite her best efforts, she canโt escape the notice of Martin Sandekeโbad boy, jerkface bully, and the universeโs hottest, wealthiest, and most unobtainable bachelorโwho also happens to be Kaitlynโs chemistry lab partner.
Kaitlyn might be the only girl who isnโt interested in exploiting his stunning rowerโs build, chiseled features, and family’s billionaire fortune. Kaitlyn wants Martin for his brain, specifically to tabulate findings of trace elements in surface water.
When Kaitlyn saves Martin from a nefarious plot, Martin uses the opportunity to push Kaitlyn out of her comfort zone: spring break, one week, house parties, bathing suits, and suntan lotion. Can she overcome her aversion to being noticed? Will he be able grow beyond his self-centered nature? Or, despite their obvious chemistry, will Martin be the one to drive Kaitlyn into the science cabinet of obscurity for good?
Something Extra… Early Reactions
This girl.
Right now sheโs reaching into the equipment cabinet and Iโm watching her bend over. I crane my neck, tilting my head to the side as she leans further forward. Iโm checking out her ass. This might be my only chance.
For the first time since meeting Kaitlyn Parker three weeks ago, she is wearing something that actually allows me to see she has an ass and tits and a waist and legs. Iโm certain she has no idea she possesses an ass and tits and a waist and legs. Because if she did know, sheโd use them. Especially her tits. Christ almighty, her tits are perfect.
From what I know about this girl, Iโm pretty sure she is more intimate with her TI-89 graphing calculator than she is with her body. And thatโs a fucking travesty.
Iโm also positive she has no clue every move sheโs making is making me crazy. If she did, then sheโd use that too. I readjust myself on the stool; my jeans are suddenly too tight.
Itโs her red pants. Or itโs the white tank top. Iโm not sure which. Maybe itโs the broken air conditioner in the building. The window is open but itโs not enough. Whatever the reason, this chick is getting me hot, and all sheโs doing is looking through a goddamn science cabinet.
โI canโt find the graduated cylinders.โ Kaitlyn straightens, places her hands on her narrow waist, and turns toward the shelves on the far wall. โDo you see the cylinders?โ
โYou mean the test tubes?โ Iโm being purposefully stupid. Iโm hoping itโll make her look at me, because she never looks at me.
Iโm awarded for my pretend ignorance. Her blue-gray eyes cut to mine and I see sheโs irritated. โNever mind. Forget I asked.โ
Kaitlyn looks back to the shelves. Sheโs studying them, frowning.
I know where the graduated cylinders are. Theyโre on the bottom shelf, all the way to the right, hidden by two large beakers. Usually Iโd tell her where they are. Not today.
Today sheโs wearing tight red pants and a white tank top. The longer she stands there searching the shelves, the longer I get to watch her twist at the waist and grumble with frustration. Iโve never seen her look so much like a girl, and I have to be honest, itโs like an early Christmas present. Really early, Christmas in September early.
My attention briefly flickers to the safety shower in the corner and I picture her beneath it. Iโm not saying I have plans to injure or endanger this girl, but maybe I could switch out the HCl with vinegar and manufacture an emergency rinse off. A medically necessary wet T-shirt contest with one contestant.
I chew on my pen, examining her body as she searches for the cylinders, and I try to picture what sheโd look like in just her bra and underwear. Iโm guessing theyโre plain white cotton, or beige, or maybe they have little purple and pink flowers.
I wonder what sheโd do if I asked her to take off her clothes and show me. Or maybe take off the bra, too. Better yet, take everything off.
Sheโd probably punch me in the face. This thought makes me smile because a punch in the face might be worth her outraged expression. Then again, she might not be as much of an anomaly as Iโm thinking. Maybe her intelligence and indifference is an act, and sheโs just like all the others. Maybe, if I asked her to strip sheโd do it, want me to buy her something expensive, and then ask how far to bend over.
This thought makes me both frown and grow harder.
I need to know. I need to know if sheโs the same as everyone else. I lick my bottom lip, the question is on the tip of my tongue, when she speaks.
โThis is ridiculous,โ then adds under her breath, โAbsurd, inexplicable, odd, strange, bizarreโฆโ
I stay quiet because sheโs now lifting her long, brown hair away from her neck and twisting it on the top of her head. She reaches into her pants pocket and takes out a pen. I watch with rapt fascination as she miraculously secures her hair in place with a writing utensil.
Mostly though, Iโm staring at the skin of her shoulders, back, and neck. Her pen-hair trick has left an expanse of perfect creamy skin exposed. I devour the unblemished region with my eyes, for some fucking reason, my mouth starts watering. Iโm finding it hard to look away from the elegance of her collarbone.
โWithout the cylinders we canโt do the experiment,โ she says, a hint of resignation in her voice. โIโll email Ryan and tell him there are no cylinders.โ
Kaitlyn turns from the shelf, her face scrunched in a frown, and I see sheโs intent on her bag. Sheโs planning on leaving. The ruse is up.
Mourning the end of my ogling, I point with my pen. โArenโt those the cylinders?โ
She follows my line of sight and squints at the oversized beakers. I see the moment she spots the containers because her eyebrows jump on her forehead and she smiles.
She smiles at lab equipment like it makes her happy. She also strokes it sometimes. Last week she kept fingering the test tubes so I took them away, moved them out of her reach. She didnโt object, just gave me a dirty look while she punched the buttons of her graphing calculator with more force than necessary.
This girl.
Kaitlyn keeps the table between us as she sets the three cylinders on the black top. I have a suspicion she keeps her distance purposefully because last week every time I walked around to her side, she found a reason to move to the spot I just left.
โIn this experiment, you will standardize a solution of base using the analytical technique known as titration. Using this standardized solution, you will determine the acid neutralizing power of a commercially available antacid tablet,โ she reads aloud from the chem lab handout.
Sheโs assuming correctly that I havenโt read the experiment outline, which is irritating. She thinks Iโm stupid, I can tell. A big dumb jock. Usually I donโt care, and I donโt precisely care nowโฆ
Actually, inexplicably, I do care.
So I grunt, โI can read, Parker.โ
โOh, good. That should come in handy.โ Sheโs still looking at the handout as she says this.
Her tone, like sheโs congratulating me on my ability to read, almost makes me laugh. Almost.
โYou donโt need to read the experiment to me.โ
โIโm not reading it to you, Iโm reading it to me.โ
โOut loud?โ
โYes. Iโm an auditory learner.โ I watch her attention dart over the chemical formulas on the handout. But then she surprises me by abruptly lifting her eyes to mine and asking, โWhat kind of learner are you?โ
I have her gaze for the first time in three weeks and my mind blanks, so I repeat, โWhat kind of learner?โ
โYes,โ her smile is tentative but friendly, again catching me off guard, โhow do you learn best?โ
I hold her stareโwhich can only be described as genuinely curiousโfor a full five seconds and Iโm at a loss; I donโt know what to do. I get the distinct impression she doesnโt want anything from me except to know how I learn best. I donโt know why, but this question feels too personal.
Therefore, instinct kicks in and I allow a slow, meaningful smile to spread over my face before responding, โIโm more the touchy-feely type.โ
Her eyes dim and her mouth flattens, like my response is wrong or sheโs disappointed, and I see Iโve lost her again even though she says, โThatโs kinesthetic learning.โ
โYou do much kinesthetic learning?โ Iโm flirting, or Iโm trying to. But all I can think is: This is stupid.
Especially when she responds to my question with, โNot since pre-school.โ
โฆ ahhh fuck.
Sheโs turned her attention back to the handout. A foreign sensation makes my chest uncomfortable, like Iโve lost something important. I stare at her pretty profile and wonder why I care whether or not this girl thinks Iโm an idiot.
However, Iโm glad I didnโt ask her to strip, because now Iโm convinced she wouldnโt have punched me in the face. I think she would have just shut down, ignored me, and then asked me to pass her the hydrochloric acid.
โIn order to determine when a solution has been exactly neutralized, an acid base indicator is used that changes color in a certain pH rangeโฆโ her words are softer this time and itโs clear sheโs reading to herself, like Iโm not even there.
And so the hour passes. Kaitlyn Parker goes through the motions of the experiment and I try to keep my boner hidden, all the while imagining her reaching into my pants and rubbing me off.
While toplessโฆ Fuck it, while naked.
These fantasies are sometimes interrupted by her being just too goddamn brilliant for her bra size. Today she quickly works through a difficult equation and solves for an unexpected outcome. The problem is, each time she demonstrates how clever she is, and how ambivalent she is to my presence, the fantasy grows dirtier.
By the end of lab weโve already fucked three times, sheโs had six enthusiastic orgasms, and Iโve come in her smart mouth twice. Of course, she swallows like itโs candy.
In reality, however, Iโm sporting an angry hard-on, unable to lift my eyes past her tits, and sheโs still ambivalent to my presence. Iโve basically become the idiot she assumes I am.
Welcome to my Friday.
I think back, trying to remember a time when I was half this preoccupied with a girl. I canโt. Even after I leave Iโll still be thinking about her mouth and what it would look like sucking me off. I close my eyes briefly, indulging, and imaginary Kaitlyn says something about copper chloride solution just before she takes the flat of her tongue and licks me from shaft to head.
Clenching my jaw, I force myself to clear the image from my mind because I need to walk to my next class in less than a half hour. This girl is clearly smart, beautiful, and Iโm halfway convinced she either doesnโt know who I am or doesnโt care, honestly and truly doesnโt give two fucks. And Iโm close to suffocating in my need to touch her.
โIโll put away the equipment,โ she says unnecessarily. She always puts away the equipment.
I should offer to help but my throbbing dick protests the idea of walking, or any movement not involving satisfaction and relief. I watch her bend and reach into the science cabinet again; strangely, all I can think about is how I wonโt see her again for another week.
This thought leads me to say without thinking, โYou should give me your number.โ
Yes, these words are unpremeditated, but Iโm not sorry for them. If anything Iโm feeling like an idiot for not asking prior to now.
Kaitlyn frowns, like maybe I just asked her for an organ donation, and doesnโt look at me. She says nothing, as though if she pretends I didnโt speak then she wonโt have to answer. The only sound in the chem lab is her packing up. This lasts for a full minute.
I know she heard me and I know she has an excellent grasp of the English language. By now itโs clear she has no intention of responding.
So I decide to push. โParker, give me your cell number.โ
She stiffens, stands straighter, and stares at her bag like it has the answers to our midterm.
But then she waves her hand through the air and says, โNah.โ
I feel my eyebrows inch higher on my forehead. โNah?โ
โNah.โ
Nah. What the fuck does that mean?
โDoes that mean โnoโ?โ
โNah means no,โ she says offhandedly while she moves to grab one of the graduated cylinders and takes it back to the shelf.
Iโm not surprised.
Iโm astonished.
This has never happened to me before. Never. When I was seventeen I asked the twenty-eight-year-old wife of a diplomat for her phone number. She wrote it on my hand with her lipstick. Usually I donโt have to ask at all.
Therefore I canโt help but press further. โWhy not?โ
Kaitlyn loiters in front of the equipment shelf like sheโs cataloging its contents; still not looking at me, she answers, โI donโt give it out.โ
โYou donโt give out your cell phone number?โ Like a dumbass, I can only repeat her words.
โItโs one of my life rules.โ
โSo, no one has your phone number?โ
โI didnโt say that. I didnโt see you record the findings today. Do you need to borrow my notes?โ
Her tight tone tells me my pushing is making her uncomfortable. And this makes me grit my teeth. I donโt want to make her uncomfortable, I just want her to give me the time of day. Also maybe spend a week with her on a deserted island. Naked. Fucking.
And talkingโฆ I blink at this last unbidden thought.
I havenโt recovered from the notion that my interest in Kaitlyn Parker might be something more than carnal when she shoves several papers at me.
โHere, these are my notes from today. Just leave them in the lab cabinet when youโre done, under the Bunsen burner tray.โ
โUnder the tray?โ I repeatโฆ like a dumbass.
โYes.โ She hitches her backpack higher and moves around me toward the door, tossing over her shoulder, โIf you need to tell me something just use on-campus email or leave a note in the science cabinet.โ
I turn to watch her go. โNobody checks their on-campus email.โ
I see her shoulders shrug but she doesnโt answer. Then, like she canโt get away from me fast enough, sheโs gone.
I stare after her, at the empty doorway, for an embarrassingly long time. Iโm hoping she forgot something and sheโll come back. When she doesnโt and I realize what Iโm doing, I shake my head, disgusted with myself, and glance at the notes sheโs given me.
Her handwriting is neat, small, all capital letters, and it looks like sheโs used a ruler for her graphs. Not knowing why, I flip through all five pages, admiring the faultless logic seemingly intrinsic to her thoughts. But then my attention catches on a faint, errant doodle on the third page, what looks like notes to a song run along the top of the paper.
She didnโt use a ruler for the lines and the notes arenโt neat. Theyโre messy. And sheโs tried to erase them.
Fantasies of my hands cupping her perfect tits fade, and I imagine her playing music. I deliberate what instrument she uses. Now Iโm imagining asking her about the song. I wonder what sheโd do if I asked her to play music for me.
Admitting the frustrating truth to myself, I know sheโd ignore me, ignore the question. This thought pisses me off and I donโt like that Iโm thinking about Kaitlyn Parker in terms other than her perfect tits.
The uneasiness is back, an uncomfortable sense that Iโve lost something. I fold the notes, stuff them in my backpack, and decide to skip my next class to go on a run instead. A really long run. Followed by ten thousand meters on the erg.
I also decide Iโm going to stop torturing myself. Iโll just stop fantasizing about this girlโthe gap between her front teeth, her eyes that arenโt quite blue or grey, how she strums her fingers on the lab table and recites synonyms when sheโs flustered, her flawless reasoning and impressive intellect, and relentless willingness to be helpfulโbecause this girl isnโt interested in me. Why waste my time?
Yeah, Iโll stop fantasizing about Kaitlyn Parker.
โฆ just as soon as this semester ends.
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laura said:
Gah Martin! <3
tinamcclay said:
OMG! I love this!!!!!!!!!!
Rocรญo Martรญnez said:
*O* holy alien babies!!! I love Martin! He loved Parker since the first moment *-* I want to read more about him! ๐ thank you Penny Reid! this was awesome!
Lauren Balbi said:
Sigh … Martin, you hound dog you! How he manages to get the girl latter is just shy of a miracle!
Kelly said:
That’s it…… I need more…. please write Martin LIB Pleaseeeeeeee
Amanda said:
So I read this entire series not to long ago and now because of this post I must read hem all again. Thanks ๐
Chanpreet said:
I absolutely loved this post. This has made my really crappy day awesome! Thank you Vilma, Penny, and Martin! <3
cajbrand said:
Thank you for the Wonderful Awesome bit of Martin!! ๐
Birty said:
Got to love MARTIN, even when he’s being a chauvinist a**!
Donna Flint said:
Whoooooboy! No wonder she thought he was a dumb jock with all that going on in his noggin all the time. Now I wanna go read all three books again! ๐ I love Martin and Kaitlyn!
Jenny V. said:
Loved this glimpse into Martin! He loved her from the start ๐
Arya said:
Wow so wonderful. Gah I am so addicted to everything Penny Reid. I need moreeee
Christina T. said:
“Gah, right in the feelings!”
Love Martin and Kaitlyn
Mimi Jean Gida said:
And here I am wishing for more of Martin’s POV.
I am in love. <3
Sarah said:
I need more of Martin’s POV ='( !!
Michelle said:
Loved this!! <3 I would definitely read the entire trilogy in Martin's POV if it was published!!
Liz said:
Agh! This series is one of my favourites… just finished reading it a second time and I already want to read it again!!! Love this… (crosses fingers) PR… more of Martin’s POV please!! <3 <3 <3
Linda McKinney said:
These two are one of my favorite couples. Martin is one of my favorite heroes. Heโs a geek whose money, looks, athleticism, and charisma make him socially acceptable, but, at heart, heโs still a geek. I wish they had left this scene in. It supports elements in the story that needed some explanation.
steph said:
I just finished the trilogy in one day, lol. And this series is my fave of Penny Reid’s books! I really like the character development especially in Book 3. aghhhh thank you for this!! I wish there was more of Martin’s POV!!!! <3
Jess said:
This makes me want to go back and re-read the entire series again. I loved these books … they were so unexpected but amazing.