“Hell yes, L is Frank’s boy.”
“Great. Here’s what I want to happen…”
I told Stick my plan and gave him exact instructions on day and time for it all to go down.
“I thought your dad made—”
“Things have changed,” I said.
A small pause and then Stick said, “Well, thank Christ. I don’t think I could have stood his melancholy ass too much longer.”
“So, you’re pretty sure he would want to…see me again?”
Stick’s snort of disbelief sounded like Beethoven to my ears. “Uh…that would be a yes.”
“Because I can just leave it alone…” The idea of being able to date Lucas but him already having moved on was devastating. But I knew that, regardless of Stick’s answer, I was going to see my plan through. The “person I am today” was someone who was brave and followed her heart.
“Don’t leave it alone. Make your play.”
“Thanks, Stick,” I said. I was about to hang up when I added, “Not so Basic now, am I?”
He laughed. “There was never anything Basic about you, Lily,” he said, and then hung up.
And I started thinking about tomorrow night.
Chapter29
Lucas
I hadn’t expectedto be back in the women’s IM building so soon. And certainly not in the women’s locker room. Frank and I had discussed redoing the men’s locker room at some point, but I was already working on a tile mural project in the admin building as of Sunday night.
But Frank had called at midnight and said there was an issue with the tiles in the steam room, and for me to go over and see what was wrong.
I felt a little bit of panic. I was sure I had done all the sealants correctly. Used the right kind of adhesive for the steam. Hopefully whatever it was could be fixed quickly and something I could do on my own. I did not want my first solo project to be something somebody else had to come in and fix.
The lights in the locker room were off, and I flicked them on. When I turned the corner, I could see that the lights to the steam room were already on. I opened the door and a billow of steam met me. Shit. Somebody had used it earlier tonight and left the heater on. It would take a while to cool it down so I could take a good look at the tile. I wondered if it had been Lily who had used it, but she said she was always very careful about turning it off before she left. Turning to leave and shut off the heater, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Somebody was in here.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I was just—” The steam had cleared just enough for me to make out the gorgeous naked body laid out on my tile job. It was the mosaic’s inspiration herself. “Lily?”
She turned her head and looked at me. She was lying on a towel on her stomach, her head resting on her folded arms. Looking exactly like she had in her bed the day I came up with idea for the steam room. “I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said, trying to call up all my self-control and not go over and run my hands down her glistening, sleek body. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you—”
“You don’t have to leave,” she said, stopping me. “I don’twantyou to leave.”
She was going to break the deal with her father. I could be strong for the both of us and leave, give her time to think this through. I knew moments of weakness, for sure, but I did not want to be a moment of weakness for Lily that she’d regret later.
“I think it’d be better if I left.”
Her body tensed. I could see it in the long line of her back. But she stayed where she was, emulating the scene that she lay upon. “I won’t stop you if youwantto leave,” she said, and I almost laughed at that ridiculous thought. “But you need to know that my father changed his mind and has given me his blessing to see you.”
My breath, barely recovered from seeing a gloriously naked Lily, left me altogether. “I…I…”
“So it’s up to you, Lucas.” She picked up a water bottle from in front of her and tossed water onto the steam mechanism, sending a flare of new steam out from the bottom of the walls. “Can you stand the heat?” she asked, and then she rolled to her side and placed a hand on her hip, challenging me.
My clothes were off in seconds, thrown out into the locker room, the door closed, and I was sitting on the towel she was lying on, gathering her in my arms. Christ, to feel her soft, pliant arms go around my neck again when I thought I’d never evenseeher again?
She slid a leg over my lap and sat facing me, straddling me. “Lily,” I whispered, skimming my hands along her hips, pulling her closer against me. I looked into her eyes, questioning.
“Yes,” she whispered, then softly pressed her lips against mine. “It’s real. And it’s okay.” I put my hands on her face, along her jaw, and kissed her with all the stinging pain that I’d felt over the last two weeks. Devouring her as the darkness without her had devoured me.
