Finally, Jeff broke the silence. “Mel, I’m sorry. I know it’s not the same thing.”
“No, it’s not, but it doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”
“I think I know what we both need,” he said, a mischievous glint returning to his eye. “Idina. Kristin. Norbert. It’s time to defy gravity, doll,” he said as he switched the playlist over to the cast album ofWicked.
A few hours – and many belted showtune duets – later, they crossed the border into Rhode Island and every muscle in Min’s body tensed. Jeff glanced at her. “You sure you don’t want to come home with me? Aunt Debbie would be thrilled to force-feed you pumpkin pie,” he teased.
Min chuckled, but she shook her head. “I promised my mom. It’s her first-time hosting. She’s nervous. Besides, I’m going to spend most of the weekend prepping for auditions anyway.”
“What’s to prep? You’re sleeping with the conductor.”
“Can you not say it like that?” she asked, wrinkling up her nose.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m sleeping with Liam just to get a good part. He doesn’t treat me any differently than anyone else when we’re on campus.”
Jeff squeezed her hand. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were screwing your way to the top. But, of course, he treats you differently. Always has. It might not be obvious to anyone else that you’re boning, but it’s pretty damn clear that you’re his favorite.”
“That’s not true.”
Was it?And if everyone thought he treated her differently – that he played favorites – how long before they figured out why?
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You’ve had a plum role in every opera since he arrived. You’ve had killer scenes in every workshop. He personally invited you to his young artist program, meanwhile Bobby barely got in–”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” she huffed.
Her head was swimming. Maybe it wasn’t enough that they were discreet (mostly) about their physical relationship. And maybe she hadbeen given better roles because of the way he felt about her. Not intentionally. She couldn’t imagine Liam would ever knowingly allow their relationship to influence his casting. But what if it had influenced him all the same? What did that make her? And what did it mean for her chances of getting similar roles if she auditioned for operas that he wasn’t conducting?
“Where’s Dr. Sexy spending his holiday?” Jeff asked, drawing her back to the present moment.
“In Jersey with Noah’s family – Dr. Van Aller’s,” she corrected herself.
Jeff laughed. “I will never get used to you being on a first name basis with our professors. AndNoahis pretty damn gorgeous himself. If you like the broody thing.”
“Which you do,” she said with a smile. He shot her a warning look, but let it drop. “He’s also very straight and sleeping his way through the science adjuncts at the moment.”
“Mmm, Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Van Aller together. Nowthatis a fantasy,” he said with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
∞∞∞
It was late afternoon by the time Jeff dropped Min off at her childhood home. Her brother’s car was in the driveway and the sounds of his three-year-old daughter’s screeching laughter floated from the backyard. She was grateful they were there – it would ease some of the awkwardness of initial hellos. She hadn’t been answering her mother’s calls as often lately, making excuses about classes and rehearsals because she hadn’t figured out how to tell her mother the real reason she was so busy was she was spending every spare minute getting naked with her too-sexy-for-words professor. Her mother was pretty understanding, and they’d always been close, but that particular revelation felt different.
She dropped her bag in the front hall and ducked out into the backyard, following the laughter and voices. Her mother Anna, her stepfather Tom, and her brother Rob were sitting at the picnic table, bundled against the late November chill while they shucked corn, shoving corn silk and husks into brown paper shopping bags at their feet. Ivy, Rob’s daughter, danced in circles around the table, trying to catch her grandmother’s elderly cat and giggling every time the wind played with her long blonde curls and the tulle of her princess dress.
“Auntie Mel!” the three-year-old screeched when she saw Min, abandoning the cat and running full tilt into her aunt’s arms. Min swept her up and spun her around, the princess dress twirling out around her and revealing the thick, knit tights she wore underneath.
“Hey, monkey. I missed you, too,” she said, smiling, as Ivy burrowed into Min’s neck. Min carried her to the picnic table, stroking her curls as she held her close, and sat at the table with the family.
“Welcome home, honey,” Anna said, leaning over to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “You made good time.”
“Jeff’s a speed demon,” Min replied. Her mother raised an eyebrow in concern, but then caught herself and smiled. “Didn’t expect to see you today, big brother,” Min said to Rob.
He smirked, tearing the husk and corn silk from a corn cob in one rough pull. “Heather’s working late tonight, so the princess and I thought we’d come help mom with her prep for tomorrow.” Min’s sister-in-law owned a bakery in the center of town, so it was not at all surprising that she was working late on the day before the biggest food holiday of the year.
“Mama’s making pupside down cake!” Ivy exclaimed.
“She saw a picture of a pineapple upside down cake in one of Heather’s cookbooks and wanted to try it,” Rob said by way of explanation.
