Page 62 of Losing Ansley

"Talking about me, Ms. Rhodes?" Julian asks. Liv clutches my arm, so this is the game they play. Bailey rolls her eyes so hard I'm surprised they stay in her head. She's doing it to aggravate him; it works because his hands ball into fists.

"I have better things to do than talk about my professor on my Thanksgiving break, Professor McMillan," Bailey replies with so much sass that if Lincoln heard her, I'd get spanked for it.

I cover my mouth with my hand because I can no longer hide my smile. Caroline doesn't bother trying to hide her smile, nor does Bec; this is definitely a regular occurrence. Julian walks until he's only a few feet in front of Bailey.

"You better watch yourself. I'll give you an extra assignment after the break." He warns her. She shrugs one shoulder.

"As long as it's an oral assignment, I'll be fine." She replies. My mouth pops open, Caroline snorts, and Bec walks out of the room, trying to contain her laughter. Julian's face turns to stone as he and Bailey enter a stare-off.

After several long uncomfortable minutes, Bailey shifts, rubbing her thighs together and looks away. Julian smirks, turns on his heels, and exits. He didn't even get what he came in here for. I slap my hand down on the island, and Bec returns to the kitchen.

"What the hell?" I whisper-yell, and Bailey starts giggling as we all lean further into each other.

"It is so much fun getting under his skin," Bailey says.

"Just wait until he's getting under yours, though," I tell her and her head pops up.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"I was like that with Lincoln. Still am to a certain extent because the consequences are fun." I explain. A sad look comes over her face as she shakes her head.

"I've tried capturing his attention." She motions to Caroline. "Ask Caroline. He won't bite. At least now he's finally being a little nice to me, but I think that's because his brother's best friend is my sister's boyfriend." She sighs. I pat her hand.

"Give it time, hon. Trust me. I promise he enjoyed that little exchange." I encourage her. She sighs but nods. After a few more minutes, we all migrate to the living room. Caroline climbs on Bass' lap, and I do the same with Lincoln.

Liv sits next to Dylan on the small couch. Bec sits on the floor between Connor's legs, and Bailey sit's on the floor between Liv and Dylan's legs and leans her head against the side of Dylan's knee. I shake my head at her antics, smiling to myself. I lay my head on Lincoln's shoulder, feeling perfectly content.

I SIT INmy car and wait for Leslie. A few minutes ago, she texted me and said she was right down the street. Chad arrived about ten minutes ago. I ducked down into my car so he wouldn't see me. When she arrives, I meet her and walk to find our location.

"How was your Thanksgiving?" I ask her. She sighs, followed by a sneeze.

"It was alright. My family has a lot of drama, so…" She trails off. She looks tired.

"That sucks. I'm sorry. Are you feeling okay?" She shrugs and waves me off.

"I'm fine, and I'm used to it by now. How was yours?" She asks, and I smile.

"It was good. I miss Lincoln already." I admit.

"Lincoln? Your boyfriend?" Chad says from behind us, and we twirl around. I scowl at him.

"Yep!" I tell him, popping the p. He narrows his eyes at me, but before he can say anything, the wardrobe supervisor begins talking through things.

As she's talking, I'm standing between Chad and Leslie, and I swear I feel Chad rub his finger down my arm, but when I look over at him, his full attention is on Anita. Maybe I imagined it.

When the day is over, I text Dylan, and we meet at a diner to have dinner.

"How was your first day back?" He asks, and I huff.

"That guy Chad started to give me a hard time, but thankfully Anita saved me." I almost tell him about the touching thing, but I'm still unsure if it was my imagination. Dylan's eyes squint in concern.

"Please make sure to keep your phone close to you." He reminds me.

"I will. I promise. How was your day?" I ask him, and he shrugs.

"Alright. It will be a lot of long hours again, but I keep telling myself it won't be like this forever." He says. I watch him. I've never seen Dylan this determined to achieve something before. Growing up, he always tried to please our parents, but he wasn't passionate about it, so he didn't give it his all. This. This is different. I put my hand on his.

"I'm proud of you, Dylan. You're really working your ass off." I encourage him, and he smiles and flips his hand over so he's holding mine.

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