In the end, it wasn’t in her to hide or play games. She opened up the text.
LUCAS:Areyou awake? Can we talk?
Did she want to talk?She typed her reply and proceeded to get ready to go to bed.
ELYX:It’salmost three in the morning. Can it wait?
LUCAS:It could, but I’d rather it didn’t. I won’t keep you long. I know you’re tired.
She tappedthe green call button. It rang twice before he answered.
His voice was low and soft, as if he was somewhere he could be overheard. “Hey. I’m glad you called. How are you doing?”
What did she say to that? On the surface, it was a stupid question. She was battered. Bruised. Embarrassed. Furious. But she knew he wasn’t asking it as a social nicety. He really wanted to know how she was handling the shit show of the night.
“I’d rather not talk about it right now. I just got back from the station and filling out my statement.”
“I understand. I’m here if you need to talk, whenever you’re ready.”
“Congratulations to Ezra tonight. I didn’t get to watch the game, but the students were loving it all the way out of the stadium. How’s he feeling?” There. Start with something neutral-ish.
A warm chuckle came over the line. “You’d think he was the MVP on the winning Super Bowl team. He was flying high until about an hour ago, questioning his decision to go to MIT and ready to play football for Ohio, then he crashed epically on the sofa, drooling on a cushion. More photo evidence to harass him. He never learns.”
“He’ll be rethinking that Ohio decision tomorrow morning.”
“Hope so. I’m not an Ohio fan.” She heard a sliding door open and shut, then wood creaking. “I’m outside, just so you know. He can’t hear us.”
She waited. He was the one who wanted to talk. He could start the conversation.
“I wanted to talk to you about tonight. When you saw Jess and me… it wasn’t what it looked like.”
The petty, insecure part of her reared its ugly head again. “Every time a guy says that, it always turns out to be exactly what it looked like.”
“I was talking with a couple about a student get-together. Anyway, Jess works with the wife, so we’ve seen them at a few social events over the years when I’ve gone with her as her plus-one. We were reminiscing about something that happened regarding her boss the night I met you, actually, and it was just a natural reaction to hug her and laugh about it.”
“We’re not in a relationship. You don’t owe me any explanations, Lucas.”
He made a sound of exasperation. “We may not have been on a date yet, but we sure as shit are something, Elyxandre. And I feel like I owe you a whole lot more than just an explanation.”
A little spark of warmth formed in her chest.
“Yes, we dated for a few weeks several years ago, but we have been nothing more than friends for over two years. I never slept with her, and while I did kiss her, that’s all it ever was.
“She knows how I feel about you. When she saw us in my office on Monday, she put two and two together and has been pestering me all week for details. Tonight, after you passed by, I finally confirmed that yes, we are something to each other. That’s all she knows. I don’t kiss and tell.”
“I believe you.”
“I just… She’s my friend, and I don’t want you to worry about that. I don’t want to lose her in my life because it’s too difficult to be friends with the teachers I supervise now, and she really is an amazing person. I want to still be able to have her over, or go visit her, or maybe even do things with her, but I also want to respect you because I know you’ve had issues with your ex and other women. I’ve never cheated on a girlfriend, nor did I cheat on my wife, and I never would. But she lives in the same city, so there is always going to be a chance that we’ll run into her somewhere, both with or without each other, and I don’t want that to be an issue between us.”
She heard his desire for her to believe him in his words. A part of her was reluctant to trust him. However, she knew from experience that lying to people wasn’t his way, and as a high school principal, he had more than enough opportunities to do so to save himself problems. Hell, he didn’t even like to sugarcoat things that were tough for people to hear. Unfortunately, Knox had done an excellent job of making her second-guess herself. Combined with the double blow of her father showing up tonight and the knowledge that Knox hadcontacted him to hopefully spur a scene, the high tension from the entire week made her emotional bandwidth very narrow at the moment.
“Lucas—”
“Please, Elyxandre. Don’t dismiss this so quickly.”
“I’m not. I promise. And I don’t expect you to stop being friends with her. In my heart, I know who you are. I see it every day at school. My head is just having a little bit of trouble adjusting. It’s going to take me some time, so I need you to understand that. Be patient with me. Please. I’d already talked myself down about it, between when I saw you hug her and when I spoke to you, but it’s going to rear its ugly head from time to time. I need a few moments, when that happens, to process and recalibrate.”
“I can do that. I’m sure I’ll fuck up occasionally, and you’ll let me know, but I want to see where this goes. I have a really good feeling about us, which is something I haven’t felt in a long time. Maybe ever. So whatever it is you need from me, I’m willing to give you.”
