“Yeah, I’m pretty certain. Biking’s not for me. But it is a great cause, and it’s very noble of you to want to help.”
“Your parents have done about thirty years more work helping the environment and animals than I have,” he says. “This must feel like nothing to you.”
That last sentence gets me.
I stare at Philip’s windburned face, his tight jaw, and the layer of tension that always seems to hide the shine in his eyes, and I exhale.
Phillip leans down to kiss my neck. “I know we haven’t had a lot of time alone together lately…”
More like any time.
“And I miss us. In bed.”
Oh.
He looks at me. “Honey, I know you and I have different needs.”
Right.
The couple times I’ve tried to talk to Phillip about what I like, he brushed me off and said he didn’t need an instruction manual. And I haven’t been able to tell him about what happened in high school with Noah.
“What’s wrong?” he asks me. “Are you okay?”
“Phillip…” I begin.
He snaps his fingers. “I forgot I offered to host the wine and cheese get together tonight. For Dr. Lucas’s visiting colleague.”
I freeze. “Here? At our house?”
Phillip’s eyes soften. “Lei, nobody’s judging you.”
Right.
“Is Professor Hammond coming?” I say casually.
“I don’t think so.”
“Were you at Big Sky Grocer with her the other day?”
He furrows his brow. “Yes. We grabbed lunch before my afternoon classes. Why?”
I bite my lip. “Because June mentioned someone was touching you. A lot.”
Phillip’s eyes crinkle with amusement. “It was nothing. I can assure you, honey, that Elsa Hammond and I have never…done anything inappropriate. You don’t have to worry about her. Okay?”
I don’t feel okay, but the sharpness in Phillip’s tone tells me this topic is closed for discussion.
As he goes to sit down on the bed, I reach for his arm.
“Honey?”
He turns. “Yeah?”
“Dance class is tomorrow night at June’s. Are you in?”
Long pause as Phillip frowns.
“I’m not sure I can swing it. You know how busy I’m going to be leading up to our wedding. I’ve got that ecology conference down in Boulder, and I have to finish reviewing my data.”
