“Whatever you do, don’t respond to them,” Cam said firmly. “Let me do some work first.”
There was no sign of the awkward, bashful kid anymore. Now, Camden Keene was firmly in his element, fingers flying over the keyboard like a blur.
“You picked the right student to bang,” I told Lila, trying to get a laugh out of her. “If anyone can figure out who sent that email, it’s Cam.”
She grunted, but didn’t so much as smile.
“Let me make you a drink.” I got up and went into the kitchen.
“There’s beer in the fridge,” she called.
“You need something stronger.” I found a bottle of gin in the cabinet and added it to a glass with a handful of ice. I added a splash of lime juice, then took a sip before giving it to Lila.
“It’s strong,” she said, coughing in surprise.
“That’s by design.”
Her wide eyes cut over to me. “Brock’s drinks are better.”
Cam snorted.
“I was going for potency, not flavor,” I replied dryly. “Normally I’m not a fan of drowning one’s sorrows in a bottle, but this feels like an appropriate exception.”
“Agreed,” Cam said.
“You want one?” I asked him.
“Get me something with caffeine,” he commanded without taking his eyes off his laptop. “I’m going to be at this for a while.”
I didn’t even mind that he was giving me orders. I was happy to see him acting more confident. “Coming right up.”
I found a Diet Coke for Cam. He scowled at it, then drank it anyway.
“Just relax,” I told Lila. “And I’m not just telling you to do it. I’m going to help.”
I pushed her sideways on the couch and raised her feet up into my lap, then started digging my thumbs into her foot. She let out a long moan that rivaled anything sexual we had done tonight.
“That’s exactly what I need,” she said blissfully.
For a while, we were all silent as I gave Lila a foot massage. The only sound was of Cam’s keyboard as he focused on his task.
Eventually, the keypad on the front door chimed as someone outside punched in the code. Brock stormed inside, dropping his backpack on the ground and heading straight for Lila.
“How are you doing?” he asked in a rush.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Who texted you?”
“I did,” I said.
She glared at me, but turned her attention back to Brock. “You shouldn’t have left work early. This could have waited until tomorrow.”
“It was a slow night,” he argued. “Kayla’s covering for me. She owed me a favor because I closed for her last week. Tell me what happened, and start from the beginning.”
We spent a few minutes catching him up.
“My guess is a student,” I said. “Someone who saw us, or overheard us talking about it.”
“But we’ve been careful,” Lila complained. “It’s been months since I’ve done anything more than smile at you guys.”
