lightly tanned skin. She mentally planned to pair the bikini with a simple cover-up so she wouldn’t have to be exposed in her bathing suit the whole time. Let’s prolong that as long as possible.
She huffed out a breath . Oh shit, maybe I should be paying attention. She realized she’d completely missed the past few minutes of the discussion taking place at her table so she brought her attention back to the group, asking the girls if they needed another round of drinks. That’ll make up for it. She took their requests before heading back into the dim house where one of the bars was located. The bar had become much busier since she’d arrived and she scanned the area trying to find the shortest drink line.
“ Well, well, didn’t think I’d see you again after that final earlier.”
Addison cringed slightly as she recognized Stacy’s voice behind her. Which version of her should I expect now?
She turned around slowly, unsure of how to greet her classmate after their past few awkward encounters . “Oh hey, yeah my friends decided we needed to celebrate,” she said, speaking guardedly.
“How fun. I’m here with a few people from work,” she said icily.
Addison stilled at her comment, praying she wouldn’t find Holden among her group. She’d love to see him, but hated the idea of him being here with a group of Stacy’s friends. She knew she had no claim over him but she didn’t want to have to see him all over some other girl if she could avoid it.
“Well have a good time,” Addison turned back to the bar and cursed the fact that she still had two people before her in line. Can’t the world work with me a little here?
“Oh we will. Shame that Dr. Taylor couldn’t join us though, apparently he had a date,” Stacy continued, seeming to get a little too much joy out of her last few words. “She met him at the hospital, she was so gorgeous.”
Addison’s stomach clenched in to a tight ball. She forced herself to turn and give Stacy a thin lipped smile before pulling out her cell phone and pretending to scroll through texts; anything to avoid hearing Stacy say more about Holden’s love life.
She couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that overcame her. It isn’t like he asked me to go on a kayaking date, he asked to go kayaking. He wouldn’t be out of line going on a date tonight.
Even after she ordered her drinks and nodded farewell to Stacy, she couldn’t shake the sad feeling that had overcome her. She pretended to laugh at whatever was being said among her friends but she knew the night had been ruined for her by Stacy’s comment. She took a large sip of her wine and vowed to pull herself out of her bad mood so she c ould enjoy the rest of her girls’ night. A second later she felt her phone vibrate in her purse.
Addison rolled her eyes at the text and decided not to text him back. Me too, friend. What she really wanted to say was “why the hell are you texting me while you’re on a date” but she pushed the crazy urge back down and remembered her vow. She tried to forget about him for the rest of her night. She told her friends the story about the sweet old woman she’d delivered flowers to on Wednesday, the whole time telling herself that she wasn’t thinking of Holden.
The rest of the night passed in a blur, and Addison swallowed the unease she felt knowing she was putting herself into a bad situation. I find him irresistibly attractive, and he is on a date with some other girl tonight. I should fake being sick and avoid the inevitable embarrassment that will surely ensue tomorrow morning.
However, as she lay in bed a few hours later she knew she couldn’t pass up the chance to have alone time with Holden, even if it was only as friends.
Chapter 6
The papers flew out of the woman’s hand as she dashed through the campus boulevards. She was about to be late for her afternoon seminar class and she didn’t want to set a bad example for the students she’d be
She huffed out a breath . Oh shit, maybe I should be paying attention. She realized she’d completely missed the past few minutes of the discussion taking place at her table so she brought her attention back to the group, asking the girls if they needed another round of drinks. That’ll make up for it. She took their requests before heading back into the dim house where one of the bars was located. The bar had become much busier since she’d arrived and she scanned the area trying to find the shortest drink line.
“ Well, well, didn’t think I’d see you again after that final earlier.”
Addison cringed slightly as she recognized Stacy’s voice behind her. Which version of her should I expect now?
She turned around slowly, unsure of how to greet her classmate after their past few awkward encounters . “Oh hey, yeah my friends decided we needed to celebrate,” she said, speaking guardedly.
“How fun. I’m here with a few people from work,” she said icily.
Addison stilled at her comment, praying she wouldn’t find Holden among her group. She’d love to see him, but hated the idea of him being here with a group of Stacy’s friends. She knew she had no claim over him but she didn’t want to have to see him all over some other girl if she could avoid it.
“Well have a good time,” Addison turned back to the bar and cursed the fact that she still had two people before her in line. Can’t the world work with me a little here?
“Oh we will. Shame that Dr. Taylor couldn’t join us though, apparently he had a date,” Stacy continued, seeming to get a little too much joy out of her last few words. “She met him at the hospital, she was so gorgeous.”
Addison’s stomach clenched in to a tight ball. She forced herself to turn and give Stacy a thin lipped smile before pulling out her cell phone and pretending to scroll through texts; anything to avoid hearing Stacy say more about Holden’s love life.
She couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that overcame her. It isn’t like he asked me to go on a kayaking date, he asked to go kayaking. He wouldn’t be out of line going on a date tonight.
Even after she ordered her drinks and nodded farewell to Stacy, she couldn’t shake the sad feeling that had overcome her. She pretended to laugh at whatever was being said among her friends but she knew the night had been ruined for her by Stacy’s comment. She took a large sip of her wine and vowed to pull herself out of her bad mood so she c ould enjoy the rest of her girls’ night. A second later she felt her phone vibrate in her purse.
Addison rolled her eyes at the text and decided not to text him back. Me too, friend. What she really wanted to say was “why the hell are you texting me while you’re on a date” but she pushed the crazy urge back down and remembered her vow. She tried to forget about him for the rest of her night. She told her friends the story about the sweet old woman she’d delivered flowers to on Wednesday, the whole time telling herself that she wasn’t thinking of Holden.
The rest of the night passed in a blur, and Addison swallowed the unease she felt knowing she was putting herself into a bad situation. I find him irresistibly attractive, and he is on a date with some other girl tonight. I should fake being sick and avoid the inevitable embarrassment that will surely ensue tomorrow morning.
However, as she lay in bed a few hours later she knew she couldn’t pass up the chance to have alone time with Holden, even if it was only as friends.
Chapter 6
The papers flew out of the woman’s hand as she dashed through the campus boulevards. She was about to be late for her afternoon seminar class and she didn’t want to set a bad example for the students she’d be
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