Page 372 of The Winslow Brothers

“Oh, what the hell!” Lydia says through a laugh and points one index finger in my direction. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding this from me! Dish the dirt! Right now!”

“There’s no dirt,” I respond just as a message that’s so full of filth, I might have to start going by Jimmy Hoffa rolls in.

Ty: That’s okay. In about twelve hours, your ass is mine, and I’ll get to the bottom of ALL your secrets. Don’t even bother coming to my class today. Just get ready. I’ll be in touch again later.

“Oh my God, you liar!” Lydia exclaims loudly as I feel a layer of heat bloom in my cheeks. “You’re blushing!”

I shove my phone back into my purse and close my eyes to take a deep breath. When I open them again, Lydia and Lou are both staring at me weightily. There’s no way I’m getting off this subway car without clueing them in.

And honestly, I’m not sure I want to. For as much fun as I’ve had with the professor, it’s been a lonely and confusing road of push and pull that’s just starting to get good.

My sister and Lou won’t judge me—they never do. It’d probably do me some good to get it all out on the table.

“Okay, yes. You’re right. There’s dirt…so, so much dirtiness.”

“Eeep!” Lydia shrieks, making Lou reach out and pat her knee to calm her down.

“Ty and I are…enjoying each other.”

Lydia slaps a hand over her mouth and rolls the other one in front of her, begging me to proceed, and Lou rolls her eyes playfully.

“It was completely innocent for a long time…just a game, really, and I didn’t think anything of it. But we’ve been sleeping together for several weeks now, and this coming week—you know, when I asked to be off from the bakery—we’re going to spend it together.”

I shrug, trying to ignore two sets of extremely wide eyes.

“Holy hell,” Lydia mutters. “You’re in a full-fledged affair with your professor.”

I snort. “He’s notmyprofessor.”

“You’re right,” Lydia agrees. “He’s your boss.”

“When you put it like that, it sounds terrible,” I muse. “But it’s not like that. I mean, I’m twenty-six, Lyd. A consenting adult. It’s not like I’m an eighteen-year-old college student banging her actual professor.”

She considers me for a long minute, chewing at her lips nervously. I can see the words she’s not saying stark in her eyes.But you are the daughter of the head of the English Department who is currently banging the professor her father arranged for her to be a teaching assistant to.

“I’m guessing Nate doesn’t know about any of this?” Lou asks into the silence.

I eye her sarcastically. “Oh yeah, Nate knowsallabout it. Ty even has an arrangement to put a sock on his office door whenever we’re in there fucking so Dad doesn’t walk in.”

Lydia snorts. Lou grins.

“Yeah, okay, I’m done with this conversation.”

“Yeah, if I were you, I would be too.” Lydia laughs then, easing the blow by reaching out to grab my hand. “I hope it works out, babe, I really do. Only you can know how worthwhile it is—how you feel about him.” She shrugs. “If I were you, and he were Lou, I’d risk it all.”

They smile lovingly at each other, and my stomach clutches in longing. I don’t give in to the temptation to assess how I feel or wallow in evaluating my choices. No, I choose the route of blissful ignorance.

Because if you gave it a moment of consideration,my mind whispers,you’d have to admit you might be falling for him.

Thankfully, Lou breaks the ice by announcing we’ve arrived at our stop, and I put my brain back to bed. It’swayyytoo early to be dancing my way into thoughts like those, Dancing Queen or not.

All three of us file off the mostly empty train and head up the stairwell to the outside world.

The studio is evidently five blocks from the station—another fun little surprise—but Lydia at least does me the courtesy of notquestioning me further. Instead, she lets go of my shoulders and walks ahead of Lou and me in silence for most of the five blocks.

“Are you ladies ready to get your dance on?” she exclaims when she finally does reboot the conversation, and I feign a dramatic groan.

“No. Not at all. Because it’s too flipping early for anything but sleeping.”

---