stress relief, but so what? This is the one I’m good at. Then there
are guys who have no self-confidence. With me, for just awhile, they’re the
biggest studs on the planet.”
She looked at him, feeling small and stupid. “That’s not nothing , is it?”
“You do a lot for me, so I don’t think that’s nothing.” He stroked
her hair away from her eyes.
This took her by surprise. “I do a lot for you?”
“Sure.” He grinned at her. “I don’t think you realize how much
stress a grad student has, particularly a younger one like me. Many of the professors
and TAs, like our good friend Francis, don’t think I deserve to be where I am.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “My family has more money than God. That doesn’t
mean I didn’t work my ass off to be where I am.
“Anyway, it’s very stressful, and that kind of stress does
terrible things to the body and mind.” He bumped the tip of her nose with his
finger. “Believe me, this is far preferable to some
kind of break down.” His expression softened. “And if you want to know the
truth, you’re a lot better company than most. My brother was right that night.
I don’t get out too much. I don’t have a lot of friends, so this is . . . nice.”
There was that word again. Friends . Lilith turned it over in her head wondering if it fit. She knew Mal and Dana
were her friends. Yeah, she was pissed off at Mal, but that would blow over.
If Trey knew everything about her, would he still call himself a
friend?
Rather than dwell on that happy topic, she shifted the subject.
“It’s not like you can just walk into McDonald’s and get a job. And anyway, I
can’t pay rent on that salary. My apartment is barely a box as it is.”
“Did you know McDonald’s turns away more applicants a year than
Harvard?”
The comment cheered her. “Yeah, exactly.”
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “You could have called
me, you know. I would have been there in a heartbeat.”
Lilith was startled by this revelation. Though she’d thought about
Trey more than was comfortable during her birthday celebration, she hadn’t
thought about calling him. She’d never done more than text him to confirm a
meeting time.
It was a strange association they had.
Before she could think of what to say, he was talking again, his
words careful. “You know I don’t think you should be ashamed of what you do for
a living. But this is a means to an end, isn’t it? Aren’t you working toward
something else?”
Already irritated, Lilith opened her mouth to yell.
Trey put his hands up in a peacemaking gesture. “I’m not arguing Mal’s point. If you did work at McDonald’s, I would ask you
the same question.”
He shifted then, moving so he straddled her, holding all his
weight on his arms and knees. Considering they’d been much closer together, it
was odd that this felt so much more intimate. The way he was running his
fingers down her cheek did things to her body that had nothing to do with their
nudity. It was an different kind of titillation, and
Lilith allowed herself a moment to bask in its warmth.
“I know what you told me before about what you thought about this
kind of work in the first place, but you must have had some kind of plan. You
must have dreams.”
Had there ever been a plan?
At the beginning, it had been the easiest choice in the world. It
was the difference between Dana’s complete destruction and keeping her friend
on the right side of sanity. When Lilith discovered she could pay rent and then
some, it had been a no brainer.
She made one obvious choice after another. The aforementioned
“then some” went to Dana’s schooling. Supporting both of them, there wasn’t a
lot left over.
Lilith allowed herself a few indulgences - a Kindle and a
subscription to Netflix to feed her fiction habit. She couldn’t get enough of
other people’s happily ever afters .
No, to be honest, she hadn’t thought of what came next. She
are guys who have no self-confidence. With me, for just awhile, they’re the
biggest studs on the planet.”
She looked at him, feeling small and stupid. “That’s not nothing , is it?”
“You do a lot for me, so I don’t think that’s nothing.” He stroked
her hair away from her eyes.
This took her by surprise. “I do a lot for you?”
“Sure.” He grinned at her. “I don’t think you realize how much
stress a grad student has, particularly a younger one like me. Many of the professors
and TAs, like our good friend Francis, don’t think I deserve to be where I am.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “My family has more money than God. That doesn’t
mean I didn’t work my ass off to be where I am.
“Anyway, it’s very stressful, and that kind of stress does
terrible things to the body and mind.” He bumped the tip of her nose with his
finger. “Believe me, this is far preferable to some
kind of break down.” His expression softened. “And if you want to know the
truth, you’re a lot better company than most. My brother was right that night.
I don’t get out too much. I don’t have a lot of friends, so this is . . . nice.”
There was that word again. Friends . Lilith turned it over in her head wondering if it fit. She knew Mal and Dana
were her friends. Yeah, she was pissed off at Mal, but that would blow over.
If Trey knew everything about her, would he still call himself a
friend?
Rather than dwell on that happy topic, she shifted the subject.
“It’s not like you can just walk into McDonald’s and get a job. And anyway, I
can’t pay rent on that salary. My apartment is barely a box as it is.”
“Did you know McDonald’s turns away more applicants a year than
Harvard?”
The comment cheered her. “Yeah, exactly.”
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “You could have called
me, you know. I would have been there in a heartbeat.”
Lilith was startled by this revelation. Though she’d thought about
Trey more than was comfortable during her birthday celebration, she hadn’t
thought about calling him. She’d never done more than text him to confirm a
meeting time.
It was a strange association they had.
Before she could think of what to say, he was talking again, his
words careful. “You know I don’t think you should be ashamed of what you do for
a living. But this is a means to an end, isn’t it? Aren’t you working toward
something else?”
Already irritated, Lilith opened her mouth to yell.
Trey put his hands up in a peacemaking gesture. “I’m not arguing Mal’s point. If you did work at McDonald’s, I would ask you
the same question.”
He shifted then, moving so he straddled her, holding all his
weight on his arms and knees. Considering they’d been much closer together, it
was odd that this felt so much more intimate. The way he was running his
fingers down her cheek did things to her body that had nothing to do with their
nudity. It was an different kind of titillation, and
Lilith allowed herself a moment to bask in its warmth.
“I know what you told me before about what you thought about this
kind of work in the first place, but you must have had some kind of plan. You
must have dreams.”
Had there ever been a plan?
At the beginning, it had been the easiest choice in the world. It
was the difference between Dana’s complete destruction and keeping her friend
on the right side of sanity. When Lilith discovered she could pay rent and then
some, it had been a no brainer.
She made one obvious choice after another. The aforementioned
“then some” went to Dana’s schooling. Supporting both of them, there wasn’t a
lot left over.
Lilith allowed herself a few indulgences - a Kindle and a
subscription to Netflix to feed her fiction habit. She couldn’t get enough of
other people’s happily ever afters .
No, to be honest, she hadn’t thought of what came next. She
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