make it to my feet when the door slammed shut behind her. I gaped at the door in shock.
What the hell just happened?
Gerard came into the room, a fresh bottle of wine in his hand. He looked around, confused. “Where’s Lila?”
I pointed to the door. “She suddenly said she had to leave.”
“Just like that?”
I nodded.
The squeal of tires backing out the driveway made us both swivel our heads in the direction of the street.
“Did you say something to upset her?” he cried.
“No.” I shook my head frantically. “She just…bolted!”
He sat down heavily. “Well, fuck.”
I sat beside him. “You like her, Gerard?”
He frowned. “She seemed wonderful.”
I nodded. “She is.”
A few minutes later, the front door opened and Byron strode in, muttering, his face dark.
“What’s wrong?”
“Some woman almost ran me off the road. She was going like a bat out of hell down the street—crazy driver!”
I giggle-snorted. “Was it an old Mustang?”
Byron nodded as Gerard groaned. “She drives an old Mustang?”
Byron looked confused. “Who?”
“My new professor. She came by to drop off a book. One minute, she was flirting with Gerard, then the next, she took off. We’re not sure why.”
Byron sat down and picked up a small puffed morsel, chewing it slowly. “Maybe these chicken bundles. A little heavy-handed on the tarragon, Gerard.”
He groaned. “I know. I thought so too.”
I burst out laughing—they tasted great to me. “I doubt it was your bundles, Gerard. Something else happened.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” I promised.
Byron leaned back. “Are we watching this movie or not?”
Gerard nodded and picked up the remote, starting it over from the beginning. “Might as well.”
He sounded so sad. I met Byron’s gaze and shrugged. I’d go see Lila first thing the next morning and get to the bottom of her abrupt departure.
Lila avoided me for three days. She was busy or in meetings. She didn’t return my calls. Finally, I decided to show up unannounced and meet her face-to-face. Byron said Gerard hadn’t been himself since Monday, and I was determined to find out why she ran, when they were so obviously attracted to each other.
I squared my shoulders and knocked on her door, entering when I heard her call out, “Come in!” To say she looked surprised to see me would be an understatement. Her face went pale, but she invited me in anyway.
I sat across from her, noticing she looked tired and anxious. “Are you okay, Lila?”
She drew in a deep breath. “I’m fine.”
“You worried us, leaving so fast.”
“I’m sorry—that was rude of me. I remembered a previous engagement.”
“I see. We were very concerned—especially Gerard.”
“Please tell him I’m fine, and he doesn’t have to worry.”
“Maybe you should tell him yourself.”
She frowned at me. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why?”
She stood up pacing. “Julia, I can’t see Gerard again. In fact, I think it would be a good idea if, after this course is done, I find you another TA job.”
I gasped. “Why?”
She sat across from me. “Do you want me to be completely honest?”
“Yes.”
“I liked Gerard.”
“He liked you too.”
“No, I mean I liked, liked him.”
I waved my hand. “I understand that. I don’t see the problem.”
“You don’t see the problem?” she asked shrilly.
“No.”
She looked aghast. “He’s your boyfriend. You don’t see the problem with the fact that I found him sexy and wanted to lick off the little bit of pastry he had stuck on the side of his mouth with my tongue? That isn’t a problem to you?”
I blinked at her for a moment, then started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. I told Lila I lived with my boyfriend and he was a chef. I introduced her to Gerard, not as my boyfriend, but since he was there, had cooked the food she was eating, and seemed at home, of course she thought he was my boyfriend. My boyfriend she was now lusting after hard.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I gasped between gales of laughter.
“He’s not?”
“No, I think you…you almost ran my boyfriend off the road in your haste to get away from us.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “The black BMW?”
I nodded, wiping tears off my face. Byron was going to laugh himself sick over this.
I calmly explained it all to her. I showed her Byron’s picture and clarified who Gerard was to both of us. Told her about our Monday movie nights. Then I winked at her and said Gerard probably would have liked it if she had, indeed, licked his face.
She buried her face in her hands. “Now, I’m even more embarrassed,”