After the cool-down, Manny wandered past and dropped two chilled eucalyptus towels into their hands like party favors.
“You did good,” he said to Lillian. “Didn’t throw up or anything.”
Lillian, pink and breathless, gave him a shy smile. “That’s a low bar.”
Manny grinned. “We all start somewhere.”
Even though the sun had set, the air still held its warmth. Bea’s muscles were sore. Breath steady. Blood moving. Her body felt awake. Alive.
They crossed to the path that led back toward campus.
“That was fun,” Lillian said softly.
“Really?” Bea asked, surprised. “The first time I did Pilates I thought my soul was going to leave my body through my quads.”
Lillian smiled. “Not in a way that makes you want to laugh. In a way that makes you feel strong.”
“That’s a good way to put it.”
The sound of a car engine drifted from the next street. Someone was doing laps in a rooftop pool across the road.
Lillian tugged her braid forward. “I’ve been applying for jobs.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere. Anywhere. I want to have money for things like this,” she said. “So I can say yes to more this year.”
Bea’s chest warmed. That was one of the more bold things she’d ever heard Lillian say.
“That’s so cool, Lil. When did you decide that?”
Lillian kept her eyes forward. “While I was in Melbourne, over the summer. I thought being back there would feel like a relief. And it did. At first.” She paused. “But it also felt like a holiday. Which I think means…this is home now.”
They rounded a corner.
“Is that a good thing?”
“I hope so.” Lillian adjusted her bag. “Last year I was more of an observer. But I don’t want to just watch anymore. I want to start making a life here. Like you.”
Like me.The girl who’d Googled “how to greet billionaires” before the welcome gala last year. Now she knew what foie gras was, how to spell it, and how to politely decline it.
“I think the UR would be happy to have us both, if we decided it,” Bea said thoughtfully.
They walked for a while.
“So you’re looking for a job. You’re exercising. What else is on the list?” Bea nudged her shoulder. “A date?”
Bea didn’t really expect her to answer. But to her surprise, Lillian said softly, “Maybe I’ll find him stretching it out in Pilates.”
Bea stopped short.
Lillian Clarke. Who avoided eye contact with ninety percent of the male population. Had just made a joke about dating.
Her jaw hit the pavement. Since when did Lillian joke about boys?
“I think you’d have a better shot finding him in the combat classes outside,” Bea said, playing along.
Lillian widened her eyes. “I’d die.”
