Page 54 of Mastered By Lust

It came with many, many strings.

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Leah

It’s early afternoon. I sit in the Seang twins’ living room, winding down a tutoring session. Josh and Ana are both seniors taking AP English, but only Josh enjoys it. Ana huffs and rolls her eyes periodically. She sends longing glances to her phone. When mine buzzes with a text, she leaps toward hers in expectation.

“Sorry, that was mine.” I hide a smile when I see Dmitri’s name on the screen.

Ana sighs. Josh starts reading through my comments on his essay draft.

“Ana.” I tap her printed-out essay to get her attention. “Do you have any questions?”

“Nope. And I think it’s time to go.” She smiles, all joyful relief. The first positive emotion I’ve seen from her is the thought of saying goodbye.

Next week is their spring break, so we set an appointment for two weeks from now. I say goodbye to the Seangs and go out to my car. I lean against the warm door and check my text from Dmitri.

Can we talk?

Rather than text him back, I call.

He picks up immediately, his voice a warm rumble. “Hey.”

“Hey. What’s up?” I watch a bicyclist speed past.

“I thought we should talk about last night. And other stuff.”

“Yeah.” My body clenches at the thought oflast nightand the things we did. “We should.”

“Can I take you out to breakfast tomorrow?”

“Somewhere public, so I don’t cause a scene?” I keep my tone light, but I’m partly serious. If he’s going to pull something like he did last time—fucking me and disappearing—I can’t be held responsible for my reaction.

“Leah.” He sighs. “No. I’m sorry I was so shitty to you about everything. I want to clear the air.”

He sounds hopeful. Maybe the chat will be good. Or maybe he’ll use it as an opportunity to put me firmly back in the friend-zone.

No. Hopeful. I think whatever he has to say, it’ll be good. “Yeah. Where do you want to meet?”

“Pancake Pete’s? Is ten too early?”

“It’s perfect.” Nerves make my insides feel squirmy, but I force myself to smile. I don’t want to sound like I’m dreading the meeting. Especially when I’m not sure what to feel, one way or the other. “See you then.”

I have two more tutoring sessions. They help take my mind off of Dmitri, but our impending breakfast date is in the back of my mind.

Afterward, I return to Gage’s penthouse to make dinner for myself. He’s still in Los Angeles after Claudia’s phone call early this morning. He texts me an update. He must be very busy, or unable to talk, because he usually calls.

He writes,Claudia will be discharged from the hospital soon. I’ll take her to a rehab facility, stay the night in a hotel nearby, and be home tomorrow.

I miss him. And my heart aches for Claudia. While I cut vegetables for a quick stir fry, I put onAcademy of Ghosts. I haven’t watched it since the night at Danica’s when I recognized Gage. Watching the show is the closest I can get to him right now, even though we’re separated by a screen and twenty-four years.

Gage’s incubus character, Zeke, is adorably earnest. And Claudia plays a succubus. She’s perfect for the role with her curvy body and plump lips. They don’t play love interests, at least not in Season Three. Instead, a blond vampire, “Trixie,” claims the honor of having “Zeke’s” heart on the show.

I decide immediately that I don’t like Trixie. Her character is manipulative and low-key cruel, and Zeke deserves better.

I’m slicing a tomato and muttering at my laptop, “Go to hell, Trixie,” when Danica texts.

My pinkie finger is the only part of my hand not covered in tomato juice. I call her instead of texting and put her on speaker.

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