She knew she’d said the last part too loud.But the actual content of the words only struck her when she saw Letty’s puzzled expression. Letty had only been fooling—she had been joking the way they always joked, turning the meeting into a thing you could be with.
And she’d responded with the truth, unwittingly.
She’d spoken as if itwasa person—and now she had to fix it, fast.
Though god, fixing it made her feel very odd.
“The meeting and I are barely friends,” she said.
“Uh-huh. So you tell yourself. But then one day, the meeting gives you this lingering look, and your hands briefly touch over terrible coffee andbam.”
“The meeting would never bam me. He’s a gentleman.”
“You say that, and yet you’re already referring to a thing as ahe.”
“Well, last I checked it did have a five o’clock shadow.”
“So you noticed huh?”
“I noticed what?”
“His sexy stubble.”
She had to look at Letty then. Just to double check that this was still a joke, and not some secret way of revealing that her friend actually knew.
Though, what she saw there didn’t comfort her.
Her gaze was so steady, so knowing.
Joking was the only option.
“Actually, it’s his broken pipes and dental hygiene posters that really turn me on.”
“Hoo, boy. How the fuck do you keep your hands to yourself?”
“With intense and incredible difficulty” she said, then immediately wanted to take it back. It wasn’t true—or at least, therealversion of it wasn’t true.
She had no problems not touching Isaac.
But then, thiswas just a game. So, what did it matter?
It didn’t, she told herself, about a second before Letty snorted.”I bet sometimes you just want to plough that meeting like a field full of delicious fucks.”
And after she had, things just fully veered into very odd territory.
Lydia’s face flamed, for reasons she couldn’t fully grasp. Suddenly, her palms were all sweaty, and her whole body was too hot, and even though she never snapped at her friend she found herself doing it. The words practically cracked out of her, too loud and too weird.
“Letty. The lecture is starting,” she said.
Though luckily, Letty took it the right way. She immediately looked contrite, and then during the lecture passed her a note.Sorry I forgot that sex stuff makes you uncomfortable now. I’m such a clumsy idiot, it read, and god, the relief that went through her when her eyes ran over the words. It was almost ecstasy. It was much too big andmuch too good, until she just had to wonder.
If there was no smoke, why she was so happy to find the fire had been put out?
* * *
She refused to let things be awkward the next time she saw him.After all, she didn’treallythink about his sexy stubble. There was no actual wild urge to rub her hands all over him. He was just a friend, helping out another friend.And true, his hair was great and his eyes were very black, and his body was fucking amazing.
But those were just facts.
