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“I promise we won’t sleep like this. Just give me a minute to catch up.”
“All right,” Heidi answered, relaxing again in Ann’s warm grasp. She was safe with Ann. She knew that. She just had to keep reminding herself.
CHAPTER12
“What has gotyou so distracted this week?” Lila’s boss, Cole, glowered down at her.
She merely shrugged as she glanced up at him, debating what to say. She’d alluded to her lifestyle many times in his presence, but he never seemed to fully understand it. Not a lot of people did, for that matter, but it was exactly how she wanted to live.
“Seriously, what is distracting you?”
“It’s stupid,” Lila murmured. “I’ll try to focus better.”
“It’s not affecting your work, but you have this stupid silly look on your face.”
At that, Lila whipped her head up to stare at him fully. “What?”
Cole shrugged. “You have this silly in-love look going on.”
“Do I?” Lila, instinctively, reached up to touch her cheeks as though she could physically feel the look with her hands.
Cole raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s going on?”
“I met someone, that’s all.”
“You’re always meeting someone new. I don’t think I’ve ever known someone to have as many dates as you.”
“Yes, well, that happens when you’re not in committed relationships for seven years without marrying like you,” Lila fired back, adding a light teasing tone to her voice so he knew she was joking. She loved Cole’s partner of choice, and while she may tease him about not putting a ring on it yet, she was perfectly comfortable with him living life as he saw best for him.
Cole gave her an odd look before Lila remembered he rarely understood her humor.
“This is someone new,” Lila stated by way of explanation. “She’s…she’s kind of an oddball in the mix of people I normally date.”
“Why is that?”
Lila relaxed into her chair, crossing her arms as she contemplated. She couldn’t put a finger on why Heidi was so different from all the others. “I’m not entirely sure yet.”
“I suggest you figure that out. Maybe this one will stick.” Cole winked at her.
Lila rolled her eyes and snorted. He didn’t understand. As much as he tried to understand, he didn’t. Relationships often didn’t last with her because most other people were looking for long-term and she wasn’t, not long-term monogamous, anyway. She wouldn’t mind dating someone for longer than a month or even a weekend, like Jerica. Ann had managed to last over a year with her crazy antics, only the second relationship Lila had ever managed to get sustain past the twelve-month mark.
Cole clapped her on the shoulder and stepped out of the room toward the back room. Lila sighed and clenched her jaw. He was right, in one way. She needed to figure out what was going on between her and Heidi, and that was absolutely something she wanted to explore. Heidi brought out something in her that no one had ever managed before. She became someone who was far softer than she’d ever thought she could be.
Lila checked her watch before grabbing her phone and sending a text to Ann, asking if she had time for a quick lunch that day. She’d never asked Ann to have lunch with her at the hospital. They always tried to keep that part of their lives separate, but if Lila was going to formally start dating someone longer, like she was with Ann, she knew Ann deserved to know. When she got her reply, Lila set out to fill the time before their impromptu lunch date.
They met at the front doors to the hospital, both bundled together in their jackets. Lila smiled as Ann walked down the hall. Together they left the building, opting for a long walk around the area surrounding the hospital so they could speak in private. Lila made sure not to touch Ann in any way that would show that they were more together than friends. Ann was open about her relationship with her partner and quiet about her relationship with Lila. In some ways it was easier, at least for Ann. Lila, on the other hand, had to keep just about every relationship she was in under the radar.
“I wanted to talk with you,” Lila started as soon as they were a block from the hospital.
“And it couldn’t wait until after work today?”
Lila pulled her lip between her teeth and shook her head. “No, because I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again. And this is easier—neutral ground.”
Ann stopped short, her dark eyes locking on Lila. “Are you ending this?”
“No! No, I’m not doing that at all.”
“Good, because I thought…never mind.”
