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“Dr. Sharpe taught English at Windermere, where Kam and I met.”

And where they’d first fallen in love. Definitely not the last time they’d fallen in love. Though so much had changed over that time, and they weren’t the same people they’d been when they were teenagers.

“Oh…intriguing,” Rosie said, clapping her hands together. She faced Kamryn purposely, a light in her eyes that scared Kamryn to her very core. “Are you someone who usually has mommy issues?”

“I think we should go…home.” Elia seemed to stutter over the last word.

Was she trying to fold herself into the lie? Was she actually trying to protect and save Kamryn from any further degradation? Kamryn tightened her grasp on Elia’s hand, needing it not only to keep her feet steady but to know if what she’d hoped for was actually happening.

“So soon?” Rosie interjected. “But I’d love to get to know Kam’s new girlfriend.”

Elia knew that Kamryn and Lauren had dated all those years ago. Didn’t she? Or had she been clueless about it? Kamryn couldn’t remember, and with twenty years in between, did it really matter?

“There’s really not that much to get to know,” Elia said.

Kamryn looked at her, the side profile of her face in the dim light not revealing too much. Elia tightened her grasp around Kamryn’s back, which was a warm reminder of the way Lauren used to do that.

“Well, how did you two meet?” Rosie asked.

“High school, obviously.” Lauren rolled her eyes and chugged the shot that Kamryn had bought her just before all of this went down.

“Well, yes,” Kamryn jumped in. She needed to take the lead on this in order to protect Elia from anything damaging that might face her. “But we didn’t meet again until a few weeks ago. All of this is very new. I promise.”

“We want the story.” Rosie sounded excited now.

Kamryn parted her lips in surprise and then looked up into Elia’s eyes, waiting for confirmation that this was something they should do. She needed to know what Elia wanted—if Elia would save her one more time.

six

“Go ahead and tell them.” Elia eyed Kamryn carefully. There was something going on here that she wasn’t aware of. But she had to make sure that Kamryn was sober enough to walk to the car without looking drunk. There were students here, a few other staff, and definitely family of Windermere.

She’d ream into Kamryn in the morning about her behavior tonight.

“Oh, it’s not that big a story. Not really anyway.” Kamryn was still looking at her.

If Elia focused on it, she could still feel Kamryn’s lips pressed against hers, the tingle from the kiss, the dampness on her lips that Kamryn had left in her wake.

“We want to hear it. I’m Rosie, by the way. Lauren’s girlfriend.” Rosie was really pushing for this, wasn’t she? Just what was she trying to prove?

“Good to meet you,” Elia answered, keeping Kamryn tucked into her side. “And Kamryn isn’t wrong. It’s not a very elaborate story. We’re working together at the school, and well, one thing led to another.” It was the best she could come up with so quickly. She wasn’t an author, so she certainly didn’t have a flair for the dramatic or the entertaining.

“Did Kamryn ever have a crush on you when she was your student?”

“God, no!” Kamryn nearly shouted. She was way too loud for there not to be an extra meaning in her words, wasn’t she? Even Rosie saw it. Lauren raised her eyebrow, the one that had a piercing through it, and seemed just as surprised by the reaction too. “Dr. Sharpe was—is—an amazing teacher. But I didn’t… we didn’t… not then.”

“No, she didn’t,” Lauren added, still looking the two them over as carefully as possible. “Kamryn was interested in someone else.”

“Oh?” Elia asked, looking at Kamryn for the confirmation. Did Kamryn have a crush on another teacher when she’d been a student?

“Me,” Lauren said simply and quietly. She wasn’t looking at Elia but at Kamryn, betrayal written across her face. “At least I thought that’s the only crush she had.”

“It was,” Kamryn responded, leaning forward just enough that Elia had to pull back to keep her from toppling over. “I was only into you back then.”

“Apparently not.”

Kamryn sighed heavily, and Elia tightened her grip on Kamryn’s arm. So that’s what this was about. “How long did you two date?”

“On and off for twenty years,” Kamryn mumbled, turning away to face the band.