“Wow. Well done.”
“Thanks. Though I suppose I should be thanking you—how many people tried to dunk you?”
“Hmm…at least thirty. Only four were successful, though.” It had been a better outcome than Eva was expecting.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was all in the spirit of good fun. Besides, I think you made Mei’s year.” Eva had never seen their colleague so overjoyed. And speaking of Mei… “Does she know about us?”
Lily was quick to shake her head.
“It’s okay if she does. I know you two are close.”
“We are, but I haven’t told her anything. I didn’t think you’d want me airing our dirty laundry in the department.”
Eva supposed that might be for the best. If Mei did know, she would’ve probably marched into Eva’s classroom and threatened her.
“She knows I’m on a date tonight,” Lily said. “But I didn’t tell her it was you.”
Who did Mei think it was with? Were there other women Lily had been speaking to, women Mei was privy to but Eva wasn’t? Had she ever spoken to anyone else on the app? Eva knew she didn’t have a right to feel jealous about any of it, but she couldn’t stop it sparking to life in her gut.
“Well, I suppose I did, in a way.” Lily smiled, and Eva quirked an eyebrow. “Mei was the one who told me about CuteMeet. She asked me, once, if I’d met anyone on it, and I told her about Elsa. Never mentioned the rest of it, though.”
“I see.” Eva dreaded to think what the reaction from their co-workers would be when they did find out, but…that was a worry for a different day. For now, she had Lily sitting opposite her in a beautiful green dress, and she was the only one who mattered.
Dinner was a mixture of delicious food and light conversation, Eva laughing more than she could remember doing in a long time. She’d feared it would be difficult, or awkward, that the two of them simply couldn’t fit together if they weren’t fighting, but…it was easy, now she’d let down the last of her walls.
“Shall we get out of here?” Lily said, almost the second the check was placed on their table. Eagerness was written across her face, and Eva felt giddy as Lily took her hand and dragged her out to the car.
The night stretched out before them, and this time, when they fell into one another, there would be no frantic rush, there would be no need for distraction, there would be no sinking feeling of regret.
There would be only tender touches, heated kisses and greedy hands, Eva mapping out every inch of Lily’s skin in a way she’d never dared allow herself before.
They had a long, winding road ahead of them, damage they needed to repair, wounds they needed to heal, but Eva knew, as Lily smiled at her from the driver’s seat, that it would be worth it.
Epilogue
Eva pushed herself faster, herbreathing turning labored as her feet pounded against the sidewalk. It was eight o’clock, but the day was already warm, the mid-August air humid, and Eva sighed in relief when she turned the corner onto her street.
She heard the quiet sound of voices when she opened the front door, and Franklin raced into the kitchen as soon as Eva had unclipped his leash.
Eva kicked off her shoes and followed him down the hall, smiling at the sight that greeted her. Lily stood at the stove, a spatula in hand ready to flip the pancake sizzling in the pan. She wore one of Eva’s old Georgetown shirts and a pair of pajama shorts that hugged her curves.
Eva’s mother sat at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in her hands and the puzzle section of the newspaper spread out in front of her.
“Are you two doing the crossword again?” Eva said, making a beeline for the refrigerator and a cold bottle of water.
“Always,” Lily said. “You’ll never guess what ten down was.”
“What?” Eva leaned against the counter and smirked when she caught Lily’s gaze lingering on Eva’s abs, left bare by her sports bra.
“Eleanor?” Lily flipped a pancake with ease and added it to the large stack of them already on a plate.
“Idina Menzel voiced this character inFrozen,” her mother said, and Eva nearly choked on her water. “Lily helped me out on that one.”
“I’ll bet. She is a big Elsa fan, after all.”
Lily shrugged. “She’s okay.”
