“I come in peace, Ms. Palomer.” He raises both hands in a sign of surrender. “And to apologize.”
Apologize? For what? There’s a bundle of black fabric in one of his hands, a long tie dangling down his forearm. Is that my apron? I was wondering where I’d lost that.
I place my fingers on the deadbolt, trying to make them stop shaking. It’s so deeply unfair. The way my body vibrates with anticipation just because he’s near. The aching, longing, pulling in my chest every time I think about him. The hopelessness of it all. It’s all just… torture.
But I know I’m not going to put a stop to it. At this point, I know I can’t. I thought I could escape to the mountains. Spend the time to clear my head so that, come fall, I could start my grad program without distraction. Ha. I don’t know what I was thinking. Even before we ran into each other, I was still thinking about him constantly.
I turn the deadbolt, give my hands a shake, and open the door. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I’m not going to turn down the teeny bits of time I get with Dr. Napier. I just need to find a way to keep my panties in check.
7
WES
I’m not good at lying to myself. If I was, I could say this is a totally innocent social call. Just a chance to apologize and return lost property, but that’s less creditable than the Loch Ness monster appearing in my backyard. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath before raising my knuckles to rap on the wooden door. I hear footsteps and the heavy thunk of a deadbolt slamming into place.
Jesus. Did I really fuck up that badly? My heart sinks lower than the Mariana Trench, but I knock again, this time calling out her name. Her last name. Just to prove I’m here with innocent intentions.
The curtains ruffle, making light flicker around my feet. I glance up just in time to hear her muttering. “Baise moi.” Fuck me. I’d volunteer, but I’m pretty sure she’s not using the phrase literally.
We make eye contact through the window, and from the way she’s warily watching me from her spot behind the curtain, I can safely surmise she’s not happy to see me. I raise my hands, holding up her apron in my right. “I come in peace, Ms. Palomer. And to apologize.” That I wanted to see her has almost nothing to do with my visit.
Corinne frowns at me through the glass, but a second later, I hear the lock retract. The door swings open, and my heart rockets straight into my throat. Her hair, wet from a shower, hangs in wavy strands over one shoulder. Soft pajama pants are slung low on her hips, and the only other thing she’s wearing is an ephemeral white tank top.
I bite the inside of my cheek, hard enough to taste blood. “You forgot this last night,” I say, my voice tight. Corinne reaches out, taking the apron from my hand.
“Thank you. You could have just left it at the bar.” She doesn’t quite meet my eyes, and it cuts through me like a hot knife.
“Yeah, I know. But I might have had ulterior motives. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry if I crossed the line last night.”
Corinne’s eyes snap up to mine, a wrinkle forming between her brows. “What do you mean? I’m the one who pushed into your research… I feel like I’m the one who should be apologizing.”
“You didn’t push yourself into my research. I just… wasn’t ready to go down to the lake.” Because you kept licking things and gave me a raging hard-on and standing was going to put me on multiple government watch lists.. Obviously, that last part can’t be said out loud. “But I didn’t offend you?”
Corinne scrunches up her face, the freckles on her nose wrinkling. “No.” She lets out a relieved chuckle, one that vibrates in her throat and gives me all kinds of bedroom vibes. “Of course not.”
“In that case… do you want to see what we found?”
She lights up at that like the sun burns inside of her geology-loving soul. “You found something? What kind of question is that? Of course, I want to see it” Her chest rises and falls rapidly, heaving with each excited breath. Sweet Jesus. If I could get her to look at me like that, without the aid of potentially ground-breaking science as an incentive, I think I could die happy. “Show me!”
“Oh. Now?” I figured she’d want to wait until morning, but Corinne grabs a set of keys and her cell phone.
“Yes, now!” She places a hand on my chest, pushing me back a couple of steps so she can join me outside. I chuckle, but the feel of her hand on my chest, even through my t-shirt, makes my heart race. I swallow hard, suppressing the urge to cover her hand with my own.
“You can’t tell me you’ve found something and expect me to wait. It’s like you don’t know me at all.” She starts down the path that lines the front of the staff cabins, but stops after a couple of steps. “Which way?” I point in the opposite direction, grinning like a madman. She’s so fucking sexy when she’s all hyped up like that.
“Oh.” Corinne comes back in my direction, and we fall in step as we head to my cabin. Fireflies flash in the surrounding woods; hundreds upon hundreds of them, lighting up the evening air. Corinne reaches out, gently catching one and holding it in her cupped hands. “I love these things,” she murmurs, peering at the little insect. It flashes electric green before taking flight again. She watches it fly away. And I watch her.
How easy might this have been if she had never set foot in my lectures? If I could have pursued her without risking my career and her reputation. Despite the physical and emotional torture of not being able to touch or kiss the only person I want, I love her company. She tolerates mine. But in an alternate universe, one where we just happened to meet at a conference or in a coffee shop, I wonder if I could have made her love me back.
Corinne grins at me as the firefly disappears into the dark canopy above us. In another universe, maybe we never met. That would have been worse.
Corinne stumbles, her flip-flop catching on a tree root. “Nique tes morts,” she groans, grabbing my arm for support as she hops up and down. “Baise moi! Ça fait mal, merde!”
“Are you okay?” I don’t know if it’s the string of obscenities, or the way she’s hopping around, but I can’t help chuckling, even though I’m ready to rush her to a hospital to get her foot x-rayed.
“Why are you laughing?” She growls, letting go of my arm so she can smack it with the back of her hand.
“I’m not laughing at you, but you have a mouth like a drunken sailor. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such proficient swearing.” She goes still, staring up at me. The moonlight filtering through the trees casts her face in dappled shadows. “What?” I ask.