Page 49 of Vacation with the Ice Queen

She heard Serena move closer, felt her presence like a physical force though they weren't touching.

"Tell me about it," Serena said quietly. "About what happened before."

The request surprised Lila enough that she turned to face her. Serena stood closer than expected, her expression open in a way it rarely was, genuinely interested rather than merely polite.

"Why?"

"Because I want to understand," Serena said simply, "what you're afraid might repeat."

The request held no judgment, just a straightforward desire to comprehend the situation fully, the approach of a woman accustomed to gathering all relevant data before making decisions.

Lila hesitated, then gestured to the meditation cushions. "We should sit. It's not a short story."

They settled across from each other, knees almost touching in the intimate space. The positioning reminded Lila of their yoga sessions, though the energy between them now felt entirely different and charged with awareness and possibilities rather than just professional guidance.

"Her name was Sophie," Lila began, the words spilling out more easily than expected. "We were together five years. She was an environmental lawyer—brilliant, passionate, charismatic. Everyone who met her fell a little in love with her, including me."

Serena listened with complete attention, her usual distractions—phone, tablet, mental calculations—noticeably absent. The focus of those ice-blue eyes was a powerful thing when directed solely at one person.

"The problems developed gradually," Lila continued, folding her hands in her lap. "At first, I didn't mind that I was always theone adjusting my schedule, always the one providing emotional support during her big cases. It felt good to be needed, to believe I was contributing to important work."

Understanding flickered in Serena's expression, though she remained silent, allowing Lila to tell the story at her own pace.

"Eventually, I realized we had an unequal exchange. I gave and she took. My needs were always secondary, my career a 'hobby' compared to her 'real work.' When I wanted to pursue specialized training, she diverted our savings toward dinners with politically connected colleagues instead—all while telling me we couldn't afford my yoga classes."

Serena's eyebrows drew together slightly. "That's more than inequality. That's dishonesty."

"Yes." Lila nodded, appreciating the directness. "The final straw was discovering she'd been seeing someone else—another lawyer with better connections. She hadn't even bothered hiding it well because she didn't think I'd leave. I'd always been so... accommodating."

The old hurt had faded to a dull ache now, a lesson learned rather than a wound still bleeding. Still, speaking it aloud to Serena felt significant—a truth offered with no guarantee of understanding.

"So you came here," Serena prompted softly when Lila fell silent.

"First as a guest," Lila confirmed. "Trying to figure out who I was outside of her shadow, outside of being the supportive partner who never made waves. When Elara offered me a position, it felt like a chance to rebuild myself."

"And you're afraid I represent a similar risk," Serena stated, cutting to the heart of the matter with characteristic directness. "That I'll take what you offer without reciprocating."

The blunt assessment should have felt invasive or presumptuous. Instead, Lila found it oddly comforting—Serena's analytical mind distilling complex emotions into clear terms.

"Yes," she admitted. "Not because you're like Sophie, but because the situation creates a similar imbalance. You're leaving. Your life is elsewhere. Whatever happens between us would necessarily be temporary and, in some ways, unequal."

Serena nodded slowly, absorbing this without argument. "That's a fair assessment. I can't pretend this is a typical beginning with normal possibilities."

The honesty between them felt precious, neither making promises they couldn't keep nor pretending the situation was simpler than it was. Just two women acknowledging attraction alongside limitations, desire alongside reality.

"So where does that leave us?" Lila asked softly, the question directed as much to herself as to Serena.

Serena's gaze held steady, unwavering in its clarity. "That depends on what you need, Lila. I'm attracted to you in ways I rarely experience. I would like to explore that attraction during the time I have here. But not at the cost of causing you pain."

The consideration in this statement—so different from Sophie's entitled assumptions—touched something deep in Lila's chest. Serena wasn't demanding or manipulating; she was asking, respecting Lila's agency in this decision.

"And if I say it's too complicated?" Lila asked, testing the boundaries of this respect.

"Then I accept that," Serena replied without hesitation. "We return to a strictly professional relationship for my remaining time here. No pressure, no pursuit."

The simplicity of her answer carried its own kind of power. No emotional manipulation, no subtle guilt-tripping—just clean acceptance of whatever boundaries Lila established.

Another notable difference from Sophie.

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