Eva smiled, relaxing back into her pillows, and enjoying herself far more than she thought she would.
Chapter 13
Lily dreaded the first dayback at school. Not even Elsa’sHave a good day at work!text could alleviate the panic churning through her gut at the thought of seeing Eva again.
Lily could still remember the heat of her touch, the taste of her skin. It crept in at the most inopportune of moments, along with a heady sense of regret, because what had she been thinking? She’d only been in the job for a few months, planned on staying long-term, and she could have ruined it all for a drunken hook-up.
Lily had never done something so stupid—and vowed never to do something as stupid ever again, nervous anticipation sparking along her skin as she shouldered open the door to the science hallway.
The lights weren’t on in Eva’s room, and Lily breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way to the teacher’s lounge. Mei and Alisha were already inside and offered a welcome distraction.
“Morning, Lily,” they chorused.
Lily decided to make some coffee—she needed a pick-me-up—putting her lunch in the fridge while she waited for it to brew.
“Did you manage to have a good break?” Alisha looked like she’d had a relaxing one, an easy smile on her mouth as she sipped from her own mug of coffee.
“I did.”
Behind Alisha, the door opened, and Lily swallowed when she saw Eva stride inside. She paused, for a fraction of a second, when she saw Lily before she looked away.
What was she doing in here?
Eva hardly ever came in during the day. She wasn’t holding a mug, so she couldn’t want a drink. She wasn’t approaching the fridge, so she mustn’t want something to eat. Was Eva there just to torture her?
Lily supposed it would be on brand.
“I hope you weren’t too hungover after the Christmas party,” Alisha said, not noticing the way Lily’s mind was spinning out of control.
Of course, Eva had to wear a skirt today. Her legs were covered by pantyhose, but still. Lily could remember running her fingers over Eva’s thigh, could remember that thigh pressing against her center, and—
“Oh, we were both a mess on Saturday,” Mei said. “You should’ve seen the state of us.”
“You went home together?” Alisha said.
“Lily kindly loaned me her couch for the night.”
“I don’t think there was much kindness to it,” Lily said, forcing herself to contribute to the conversation, to look away from Eva. “How long did it take to work the kinks out of your neck?”
“I think one’s still there.” Mei rolled her head for emphasis, and Lily forced a laugh.
“Alisha?” Eva had apparently had enough of their idle chit-chat. “Could I have a word?”
“Sorry, Eva, of course. I trust you had a relaxing vacation?”
Lily glanced toward her as Alisha led her out into the hall, but Eva’s face didn’t change. She seemed determined to ignore Lily altogether. Lily hadn’t realized “pretend it never happened” was code for “pretend Lily didn’t exist”.
And Lily knew it was for the best. She didn’t want the rest of the department to know about their tête-à-tête—but hell, it still stung, to have the woman who had kissed her senseless less than two weeks ago snub her completely.
It shouldn’t have surprised her. Lily knew what kind of person Eva was. She didn’t exactly go to great lengths to hide her true colors. It should be a relief, this indifference, yet Lily found herself thinking of Eva’s long legs, the slope of her neck, the noise she’d made when Lily had rocked against her, and Jesus, that was not helping.
Lily cleared her throat, grabbing her forgotten-about coffee, and realized she hadn’t heard a word Mei had said since Eva had left the room.
Fuck.
She needed to shake this off before her first class of the day. At least Lily would be starting with some good news—Carly had scored the second-highest mark in Lily’s honors class on their last exam, and Lily couldn’t wait to see Carly’s face when she told her.
* * *
