"How do I do that?" she sounded exasperated.
"You don't have to. I will."
Tallulah looked at me with brief surprise. "I wasn't asking you to?—"
"I know. I'm offering."
"You don't have to," Tallulah said quietly.
"I want to."
Those three words seemed to lift a weight off her shoulders.
"You have until Friday, which is only four days away, but I can pull together a solid presentation in a short amount of time. I'm meeting clients for dinner tomorrow night, but I'm free Wednesday night. We could work on the revised presentation then."
Appreciation shone in her eyes. "Why are you doing this?" she asked softly.
Because you're constantly on my mind. Because helping you feels like the right thing to do. Because I want you to turn to me when life gets hard.
None of those words left my mouth. Instead, I said, "I'm good at this kind of thing. Let me help."
Pursing her lips, she still appeared hesitant. "Okay, Wednesday. Where?"
"We can work at my place, in my home office."
"Your place." She said the words as if she remembered, like I did, all the ways we had driven each other wild the last time she stepped foot in my home. "Sounds good."
We tossed around a few ideas for the presentation, and then I checked my watch. More than twenty minutes had passed. I removed the cold bag and cautiously straightened my leg. The muscle still hurt, but less than before.
"Better?" Tallulah asked, eyeing my thigh.
"Yes."
"Ice it again when you get home, and take an ibuprofen."
"Yes, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. Be careful or you'll be limping for weeks."
Standing slowly, I tested my weight on the leg. Tallulah pushed away from the desk and reached to help, but I waved her off.
"I'm good."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. The pain isn't as bad as before."
I had taken the side entrance to come into the class, but my car was parked out front, so she let me out the front door. I paused on my way out and reached for her, stroking her arm and enjoying the softness of her skin.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"FYI, I won't be back."
She laughed. "I know."
We gazed at each other, and then I inhaled the inviting scent of her vanilla and honey body cream—the same scent that had lingered in my sheets after she left my bed.
