creaked upon. “Oh, so you are in here. We’ve been wondering where the hell you’ve been the past few days.” Kelsey and Erin entered the room and took up positions on Parker’s bed after they pushed aside all the books strewn on the comforter.
“I’ve been studying.”
Kelsey ventured a question. “Wanna talk?”
“Not especially, but I get the impression this isn’t about what I want. You two are up to something. What is it?”
Erin started the conversation. “Kelsey tells me you had a friend over for breakfast Friday morning.”
Friday seemed like forever ago, Parker thought. Here it was Sunday afternoon and she’d been able to think of little else since kissing Morgan good-bye at her car Friday morning. The fierce embrace they had shared signaled it was more than a “see you soon” good-bye. Since then she’d glided through Friday’s classes, resisting the urge to walk by Morgan’s office to catch a glimpse of the real person who now faded into fantasy. With the weekend almost over, she realized she hadn’t been mentally present, but had instead slipped into a weird kind of walking coma which allowed her to accomplish only routine tasks while saving her from thoughts of what might have been.
“Um, Parker? Are you in there?” Erin waved a hand in front of Parker’s face.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Wanna tell us about your hot new friend? We couldn’t help but notice she’s a repeat customer.”
Something about the connotation of the word “customer” made Parker snap. “What the hell do you mean?”
Kelsey grabbed Parker’s arm and pulled her close. “Hey, tiger, calm down. We’re not used to you seeing someone more than once. We were wondering if we should be reading bridal magazines.” Her teasing words were delivered with a gentleness designed to soothe the bristling anger Parker held below the surface. Recognizing her attempt to defuse the situation, Parker relaxed.
“Sorry, I’m having a bad day.”
“Anything we can do to help?” Erin’s question was tentative.
Parker offered a half-smile. “No, I don’t even know what’s wrong. I feel like I’m coming out of my skin. Normally, I’d work out to get rid of this feeling, but I can’t seem to muster up the energy.”
“Casey, are you sure it’s not the girl who’s got you down?” Kelsey asked.
Parker surprised herself by replying in a muffled voice, “I don’t know, maybe.”
“She’s beautiful. And, she seems very nice,” Kelsey offered.
“Oh, she’s nice and beautiful all right.” Parker looked at them, then glanced away, choosing not to see their immediate reaction at her next words. “She’s a nationally known criminal defense lawyer, TV commentator, and she also happens to be one of my professors.”
“No way!” Kelsey punched her on the shoulder. “How in the hell did you two wind up in bed together?”
“Oh, it’s over.” Parker shrugged. “I mean it has to be. We never would have hooked up if we’d known what we were getting into, but we met before school started and neither of us had any idea. Conversation wasn’t big on the list of things we shared the night we met.” Looking up, she dared them to comment on this revelation.
They both resisted, but Parker could tell by the subtle looks they exchanged when they thought she wasn’t looking that they wondered if her affair with Morgan Bradley was truly over. She knew it had to be. For Parker, who had always placed more value on the heat of the moment than the emotions she left behind, the realization was crushing.
Chapter Seven
Back East, the night air this time of year would be crisp and cool. Morgan missed the predictability of the changing seasons. Here in Dallas, the intense heat of August had boiled over into a steamy September. Green leaves clung to trees and gardeners still planted, gambling on endless sunny, warm weather since there seemed to be no cool winds in sight.
The last week of class had been as stifling as
“I’ve been studying.”
Kelsey ventured a question. “Wanna talk?”
“Not especially, but I get the impression this isn’t about what I want. You two are up to something. What is it?”
Erin started the conversation. “Kelsey tells me you had a friend over for breakfast Friday morning.”
Friday seemed like forever ago, Parker thought. Here it was Sunday afternoon and she’d been able to think of little else since kissing Morgan good-bye at her car Friday morning. The fierce embrace they had shared signaled it was more than a “see you soon” good-bye. Since then she’d glided through Friday’s classes, resisting the urge to walk by Morgan’s office to catch a glimpse of the real person who now faded into fantasy. With the weekend almost over, she realized she hadn’t been mentally present, but had instead slipped into a weird kind of walking coma which allowed her to accomplish only routine tasks while saving her from thoughts of what might have been.
“Um, Parker? Are you in there?” Erin waved a hand in front of Parker’s face.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Wanna tell us about your hot new friend? We couldn’t help but notice she’s a repeat customer.”
Something about the connotation of the word “customer” made Parker snap. “What the hell do you mean?”
Kelsey grabbed Parker’s arm and pulled her close. “Hey, tiger, calm down. We’re not used to you seeing someone more than once. We were wondering if we should be reading bridal magazines.” Her teasing words were delivered with a gentleness designed to soothe the bristling anger Parker held below the surface. Recognizing her attempt to defuse the situation, Parker relaxed.
“Sorry, I’m having a bad day.”
“Anything we can do to help?” Erin’s question was tentative.
Parker offered a half-smile. “No, I don’t even know what’s wrong. I feel like I’m coming out of my skin. Normally, I’d work out to get rid of this feeling, but I can’t seem to muster up the energy.”
“Casey, are you sure it’s not the girl who’s got you down?” Kelsey asked.
Parker surprised herself by replying in a muffled voice, “I don’t know, maybe.”
“She’s beautiful. And, she seems very nice,” Kelsey offered.
“Oh, she’s nice and beautiful all right.” Parker looked at them, then glanced away, choosing not to see their immediate reaction at her next words. “She’s a nationally known criminal defense lawyer, TV commentator, and she also happens to be one of my professors.”
“No way!” Kelsey punched her on the shoulder. “How in the hell did you two wind up in bed together?”
“Oh, it’s over.” Parker shrugged. “I mean it has to be. We never would have hooked up if we’d known what we were getting into, but we met before school started and neither of us had any idea. Conversation wasn’t big on the list of things we shared the night we met.” Looking up, she dared them to comment on this revelation.
They both resisted, but Parker could tell by the subtle looks they exchanged when they thought she wasn’t looking that they wondered if her affair with Morgan Bradley was truly over. She knew it had to be. For Parker, who had always placed more value on the heat of the moment than the emotions she left behind, the realization was crushing.
Chapter Seven
Back East, the night air this time of year would be crisp and cool. Morgan missed the predictability of the changing seasons. Here in Dallas, the intense heat of August had boiled over into a steamy September. Green leaves clung to trees and gardeners still planted, gambling on endless sunny, warm weather since there seemed to be no cool winds in sight.
The last week of class had been as stifling as
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