The Game Changer - ch 24 (Patreon)

Let's go, lesbians...

Chapter Twenty-Four

Abbie Parker – 6:03A.M.[image attachment]

Rose Elliston – 6:03A.M.I’m getting Cassie ready for school. Why would you send me that photo NOW

Abbie grinned down at her phone, a heated arousal working through her.

Abbie Parker – 6:04A.M.Just got back from a morning run. Showered. Thinking about you. Thought you’d want to know…

Rose Elliston – 6:04A.M.Fuck.

I DO want to know

I didn’t realize you had this kind of devious streak. I’ve miscalculated about you

Abbie Parker – 6:04A.M.Devious? I’m not showing you anything you couldn’t have at your earliest possible convenience

Because last night had been torture. She’d spent so little time in Rose’s bed, but she missed it. Missed it to the point that her mom and Caroline had both spent last night teasing her for “moping” around on a Sunday evening.

Abbie Parker – 6:05A.M.Ever played hooky?

Rose Elliston – 6:05A.M.Have YOU?

… well, no.

Abbie Parker – 6:05A.M.Today could be a fun first…

Rose Elliston – 6:06A.M.Ugh.

I’ve never been more tempted

But I need a little more time to plan the next time you get your big idea, Lemon. Because even if I could take today off – which, I can’t because I’m slammed in meetings all day – I’d still have to figure out what to do with Cassie in order to spend today fucking you as long and as intensely as I want to right now.

Jesus.

Abbie Parker – 6:06A.M.That takes away the spontaneity of the idea, but ummm yeah, the next time, we will plan it

Even if we can’t spend time together today at work and even if we can’t ditch and have sex all day… I’m excited to see you

Rose Elliston – 6:07A.M.It is the least surprising news to me that you are already at a sappy stage

Abbie Parker – 6:07A.M.Okay, and??? You love it

Rose Elliston – 6:07A.M.Fine. I do

I am not not excited to see you, too

***

“Okay, Anya, for your final shot, remember to plant your foot – yes, there!” She shouted when Anya jerked her chin to where Abbie had been referencing.

She hopped up and down to get her blood moving, shaking out her hands, as she surveyed the girls in front of her.

Anya, Casey, and Marina had all come to her and asked if she’d help them while they were playing for an indoor winter league during their off season. Even though Abbie wasn’t technically their coach on that team, who was she to say no?

Well, she could say no, but she didn’t want to. She loved the spirit, and it only invigorated her for their future as a team. The Red Foxes could really be that team again, and Abbie wanted to be the person who did it.

Her and Rose. Assuming Rose wanted to continue coaching with her, that was.

They’d been a little too busy in the last few weeks since the season had ended to really discuss the future. But they would have the time.

There was a chilly mist in the November air that made the field slippery, and Abbie had been out here with the girls for an impromptu practice as soon as their final class had ended forty minutes ago. Though she had on gloves and a long-sleeved shirt, the cold had really seeped into her bones. She’d called an end to their practice, giving them all one last chance to shoot on her – together, because she figured that would be fun for them – before they all needed to head inside.

The last thing she wanted was for any of them to catch their death out here, as her mom would say.

She waved at them, settling into her position in the goal. “All right, bring it on!”

Abbie dialed in. In no way did she ever want to discourage them, but she’d never simply allow someone to score on her.

She could already see, in a split-second, that Marina had kicked a sliver too wide; the ball wouldn’t make it in the net anyway.

Casey and Anya had both kicked toward the right side of the goal, both going high, and Abbie had to leap to stop them. She managed to snag Casey’s, curling the ball to her chest, but Anya’s kick was textbook. Abbie felt it skate over her fingertips, made even worse by the moisture in the air.

Right into the goal.

She landed on her feet, going into a low crouch at the impact, as she shot the ball comfortably sitting against the net a glance.

A wide smile slid into place on her face, as the feeling of such… pride welled right up.

“Holy. Shit,” Casey breathed out, reaching out to grasp Anya’s shoulder, shaking her intensely.

“You scored on Coach! You scored on Abbie Dalton!” Marina shouted, jumping up and down.

Anya, for her part, stared wide-eyed at Abbie, then at her ball, then back at Abbie.

Abbie dropped the ball to her feet, slowly dribbling over to where the girls stood. “Okay, Beckett, I see you. Now, can you bring that level to your winter league?”

“I’d better,” Anya returned, a smile breaking over her lips.

“You scored a goal, but can you get the ball back?” Abbie challenged, arching them a look as she started doing bell taps, daring them to dart out and try to take it from her.

Casey attempted, but Abbie spun around – just quickly enough to evade her, coming face-to-face with Anya.

Who didn’t attempt to get the ball, but instead glanced over Abbie’s shoulder, frowning.

“Uhhh, Coach? There’s some guy standing over there.”

Immediately on high alert, the fun of the practice dropping away, she spun around, her arms spreading slightly, like she could hide three teenage girls behind her from some fucking weirdo.

Only to relax as soon as she realized it was Nathan.

“That’s…” She trailed off, unsure of how to explain his identity to the girls.

Rose’s… Headmaster Elliston’s (soon to be) ex-husband?

That felt – weird. Like, they didn’t need to know that level of detail about Rose’s life. Also, in the fantasy life that Abbie had started to build up in her mind, she hoped/imagined that she and Rose would be known as a couple sometime in the near future.

Sure, she knew it was a delicate subject. Rose was technically still married to Nathan, even if it was just essentially a paperwork formality. And things were still relatively old school at Elliston, especially when it came to some donors. Cassie didn’t even know yet.

Maybe not in the next couple of months, but by the end of the year? Maybe after summer vacation?

Abbie didn’t know, but what she did know was that her mind was alight with possibility.

“That’s a friend,” she settled on with a shrug. “He’s cool.”

What else were you supposed to call your lover’s soon-to-be-ex-husband?

It wasn’t really a lie. Maybe she and Nathan weren’t really friends yet, but only because they hadn’t spent a ton of time together. At least, that was the case in Abbie’s mind. She hadn’t been able to spend much time with Nathan other than a few interactions when Rose and/or Cassie was there. Which was likely normal?

Either way, she lifted her hand to wave at Nathan. He waved back.

“Why don’t you three grab the gear and head back to the locker room?” She glanced up at the sky, frowning as the sun really seemed like it was already starting to set, and it wasn’t even four o’clock yet. “If you’re driving, you should head out soon, before it’s dark.”

“Yes, mom,” Anya joked.

“You have enough moms, you don’t need to add any more to the mix,” Abbie cajoled right back.

The girls laughed at that as they turned to gather their supplies, and Abbie walked toward Nathan.

She shot the girls a glance, making sure they weren’t lingering on the field or in earshot. “Hey. Ah, fancy seeing you here?”

As far as she knew, there was no reason Nathan should be here.

“So…” Nathan started, then trailed off, narrowing his eyes out at nothing into the field.

Abbie stared at him, absolutely baffled. “So…?” She echoed. “Are you all right?”

Not that she could imagine why Nathan would come to see her if he wanted all right.

“Yeah, I’m good. I just – you know, this is weirder than I thought it would be, when I got the idea. That’s kind of what I’m wrestling with, here.”

Abbie arched him a look, pressing, “If you provided some context, maybe I could help make it less weird? At the very least, I could probably tell you if whatever you’re doing is weird or not.”

Nathan breathed out a chuckle, before he shrugged. “Ah, what the hell. I’m here to talk to you about Rose.”

All at once, Abbie’s stomach sank. Had something happened to Rose? She’d seen her in passing earlier today at lunch, but that had been hours ago. And Nathan was probably Rose’s emergency contact. But why would that be weird?

Fuck. Was he going to tell Abbie he was still in love with her or wasn’t happy about their relationship now that they were definitely full-speed-ahead? He’d definitely known what was up when he’d dropped Cassie off Saturday afternoon. But at the time, he’d merely lifted his eyebrows and aimed a knowing smile at Rose, like he wished he could comment, but wouldn’t in front of Cassie.

“Nathan, I really need some more, here.”

He nodded, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head. “Right. Rose probably wouldn’t like this, so that’s what makes me hesitant now that we’re, you know, face-to-face. But I’m… look, Rose doesn’t have a lot of people in her corner,” he plainly stated, turning his attention back to Abbie, holding her stare with his. “Her parents – I mean, her dad’s dead, but even before that…”

He grimaced.

Abbie did too, feeling the anger surge through her. Anger at a dead man, but she didn’t know how to stop it. How to not picture the way Rose had looked the night she’d told Abbie everything about her past.

Nathan waved his hand through the air. “And her mom, well, I don’t know what you know about her mom–”

“Not much,” Abbie admitted, and huh. She should ask Rose about that.

… should she?

Rose wasn’t the most forthcoming person, and if she hadn’t told Abbie much about her mom, she probably didn’t want to talk about it. But Abbie figured she was allowed to have questions. Now that they were in a relationship.

Because they were in a real relationship, even though… Abbie supposed they hadn’t really “officially” verbalized that.

“I didn’t imagine she would,” Nathan continued, bringing her back to the moment. “But her mom is kind of a mess. Never been really nice. Anyway. I’m in Rose’s corner. And I just – I don’t want this to seem like I’m trying to be all domineering and grr you better treat her well. But. I really want you to treat her well.”

Abbie blinked up at him, because this hadn’t been on her bingo card at all. “Are you giving me the shovel talk? For your almost ex-wife?”

He narrowed his eyes, letting out a scoff. Before a thoughtful expression crossed over his face. “I didn’t think of it like that, but I guess I am. Hey, maybe it’ll be practice one day for Cassie.”

Abbie’s eyebrows scrunched together as she studied Nathan’s face. His big, honest eyes, the laugh lines that she could seen even when he wasn’t smiling because he did smile so frequently. And she knew her skepticism was written into her expression when he sighed.

“Yeah, I’ll probably leave that to Rose; she’s a lot more intimidating than I am.”

“I wasn’t going to say it,” Abbie agreed with a laugh.

She could picture it, though, so easily. The expression on Rose’s face when or if Cassie dated someone who Rose didn’t think was up to muster. She was going to scare them shitless.

And the very idea of it only made Abbie’s stomach flutter.

Maybe she’d be there, standing right behind Rose, encouraging her to cut the kid some slack. She really liked that idea.

God, she was a goner. When was the last time she’d fantasized about a future like this with someone, let alone someone she’d technically only been dating for a few weeks? Someone she’d only started sleeping with days ago?

The answer was a very easy never.

“I’m not trying to intimidate you, anyway. I wouldn’t even challenge you to an arm wrestle, honestly.” Nathan eyed her biceps, even though they were technically hidden under her now-soaked through shirt. “I’ve seen the magazine covers and stuff; I know you’re jacked.”

She laughed, and… really, she appreciated the hell out of the fact that Nathan wasn’t one of the men who believed he’d be able to out-perform a female professional (relatively recently) athlete.

“So… you’re not here to intimidate me, but you did come by just to tell me that I should treat Rose well?” She summarized, both endeared to Nathan and still, admittedly, confused.

Abbie knew he worked from home a lot and had flexibility with his schedule, but cutting his workday short to come and chat with her here was… interesting.

“Yeah, I’m also going to come and pick Cassie up from afterschool care. Take her out for dinner. I know it’s Rose’s nice, but you have that meeting soon, so Cassie would be stuck here for a long time.”

“And now things make a lot more sense. Also, thanks for the reminder.”

Abbie glanced down at her watch. She wasn’t late – there were still over twenty minutes until the meeting with the Board was going to start – but she figured it would be good to get there early. Mostly because she had no idea what the meeting was for. Neither did Rose.

They’d both gotten an email from Jeffrey Fletcher, Board President – Abbie always thought the way he signed that into his emails was so pompous. Like, okay? It’s the board of a prep school, get over yourself – this morning, informing them that there was to be a short-notice meeting this afternoon.

She tilted her head toward the building, taking a step in that direction, and Nathan fell into line with her.

“I think that you’re right in that Rose probably wouldn’t love you ‘defending her honor’ or something like that,” Abbie agreed, before she simply said, “But regardless, I’m not going to hurt Rose. I really, really…” She trailed off, unable to even say like her, which had been her intention. But she couldn’t even get those words out because, “I more than like her. And I respect her. And–”

She bit her lip as she shot Nathan another look.

He seemed totally at-ease with what she was saying, nodding along with her. Looking like he really cared about what she was saying, and that he was taking it seriously.

“Can I just – I really can’t help but wonder: how are you so okay with all of this?” God, Abbie had been dying to know that for so long.

How could Nathan, who’d been in a relationship with Rose for so long, be so – so okay about it all. About their divorce, about everything they’d ever known changing, about seeing Rose dating.

Abbie couldn’t imagine what it would feel like for her to see Rose strike out and start dating someone else, and they’d barely established their relationship.

“Sorry. I know that’s technically none of my business,” she acknowledged. “So, you don’t have to tell me anything. I just…”

Nathan shook his head. “No, I get where you’re coming from.” He shot her a crooked smile. “I told you a few minutes ago this was weird.”

A chuckle escaped her. “So you did.”

“You know, Rose was the only girl I ever really liked.”

Well, that was an unexpected turn. She lifted both eyebrows at him, surprise filtering through her. “Um… oh. Okay.”

“It’s relevant,” he informed her, tucking both of his hands into his pockets to help keep them warm as the mist started to turn into a heavier rain. “Because, y’know, we’ve known one another our whole lives. And when I started to notice girls, Rose was basically all I noticed.”

Abbie didn’t have to stretch her imagination to picture that.

“I only asked her out, officially, once. She said no. And I didn’t ask again, because I didn’t want to make things weird. Like I said, we were friends for our whole lives before that. I went out with some other girls when we hit high school. But… you know the thing that I fucking loved about Rose, that I never experienced with anyone else?”

“I couldn’t even hazard a guess,” she answered, honestly. But she was riveted.

“She never played games. She was super straight-forward. I never had to try to read her mind or guess. Like, when Rose said don’t make a big deal about prom, I knew she really meant it. And it was all high school, right, like… a lot of teenagers are just figuring out what it means to try to be with someone. But with Rose, it was all so direct, and I loved that.”

“You and I experienced different Rose’s in high school,” she dryly returned.

Because she’d constantly been guessing what was going on with Rose, never had a damn clue what was going on in her mind.

Nathan snorted. “Yeah. Yeaaah, we definitely did.”

They reached the door leading into the gym, and Abbie opened it first, letting him enter.

He ran his hands back and forth through his hair, water droplets running down his face. Abbie did the same, looking down at herself as she dripped onto the wood floor. That meeting was going to be a blast.

The door slammed closed behind them, and Nathan leaned back against the wall. “Man, I loved gym class. Remember when your team played kickball against the boys’ lacrosse team in here?”

Abbie surveyed the room, like she could see it playing out before her eyes, and a small smile tugged at her lips. “We killed you.”

“Sure did,” he agreed. The smile on his face faded into something more nostalgic as he said, “The best day of my teenage life was when she decided she wanted to date me.”

She remembered them as teenagers very clearly. Rose and Nathan were never a couple that walked through the hallway holding hands or kissing against a locker. But they’d walk next to one another or have lunch together, and Nathan always had those stars in his eyes.

Rose hadn’t, but Abbie didn’t question it.

“And she was never all lovey-dovey or soft, didn’t want to make a big deal about anything. But… I just figured that was who Rose was, and that was okay.”

Abbie nodded again, dialed in.

He looked down at his hands. “When our parents were talking about our engagement, the summer before our senior year of college, I…” He let out an achingly heavy sigh, dropping his head back. “I could see that Rose wasn’t happy about it. I could feel it. Even if she didn’t outright say that.” Nathan brought one of his hands up, rubbing over his chest, looking at her so intently. “Do you know what I mean?”

Abbie hadn’t been in nearly that exact position.

But she did remember what her relationship with Daniele had felt like the summer before their senior year in college. How everything felt off, even when nothing was put into words. She’d been able to feel that Daniele was going to end things for weeks before it happened, and she hadn’t been ready to face it.

“I do,” she quietly affirmed.

“I think that was the very beginning of my starting to fall a little out of love. Not that I registered it like that at the time. But there was a fracture inside of me, you know? And when I look back on us, there was a real difference between how I felt before that summer, and after.”

And because she knew that Nathan had hooked up with another girl when he’d gone back to school – an action clearly born from that feeling – it all made a lot of sense.

Nathan cleared his through, the sound low and guttural and emotional. “Anyway, what I’m saying is – I knew Rose didn’t love me, the way I loved her. I rationalized the hell out of it, told myself that’s just who Rose is. But… she wasn’t happy to get married to me. And I pushed those thoughts away, I pretended I didn’t see it, didn’t feel it, because I wanted so badly for that idyllic life I envisioned for us to be real.”

He lowered his eyes to the ground, his eyebrows furrowed deeply, and he looked so genuinely upset, Abbie couldn’t help but close the distance, leaning against the wall next to him and drop her hand to his. Squeezing encouragingly.

“You were both really young. And had a lot of pressure on you.”

“That’s true. But I, ah, I had less pressure than Rose did. My parents aren’t nearly as… intense. If I’d wanted to back out of everything, I could have done it a lot easier than she could have. But I never did. Because I – I deliberately kept my head buried in the sand. And that’s why, no matter what, I can’t ever really be mad at her over–” He lifted his hands, gesturing around, before dropping them listlessly to his sides, making a little explosion sound. “That was our marriage ending.”

She nodded, giving him a gentle smile. “Yeah, I got that.”

“Sometimes I think about someone marrying Cassie. And I’d hope that the guy – or lady, or person in general,” he added on, diligently, “Doesn’t love her selfishly. Because that’s what I have to be accountable for, in my marriage. That, when I’m honest with myself, I knew from before we were even officially engaged that she didn’t want it like I did.”

Abbie studied him, and she felt a lot more sympathy for him than she’d ever have imagined. Abbie would have loved to think she’d have enough strength to end a relationship with someone she was desperately in love with, if she’d been in his shoes.

Nathan reached up, scrubbing his hand over his eyes. “Knowing Rose is a lesbian actually made things a lot easier. Maybe if she could be in love with a man, maybe she’d have loved me back.” He shrugged. “Mostly, it explains a lot.”

He shot her a meaningful look, as if to say it explains all of her feelings for you.

Abbie could only agree. Getting through all of the layers of Rose did make things a lot clearer. “You’re a good person, Nathan. And I don’t plan on going anywhere, so I think that you and I are going to end up being really good friends.”

He perked up. “You think? Rose will totally hate it.”

“But secretly enjoy it.”

“Exactly.”

They shared a grin, before Abbie looked back down at her watch. Still plenty of time before the meeting, but she really wanted to see Rose before it started.

For no reason in particular; just to see her.

Nathan stood up straight, obviously reading the room. “Now that we’ve had our conversation, and I can be sure that you’re here for the right reasons, I’ll go pick up that child of mine.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

Abbie found that she really hoped so. Was that weird? Maybe it was, but she envisioned it so clearly. For the first time in her life, she really saw what the future held, beyond soccer.

And wouldn’t it be amazing, especially for Cassie? Abbie couldn’t fathom the idea of all the parents she’d had in her life existing in harmony. Her father really ruined that by… well, his existence.

But, in theory, she thought she would have liked it. Caroline filled so many cracks and gaps she’d had inside that, even at nine and ten she’d pretended she didn’t have. The indifference he’d shown to her that – when Abbie let herself think about it, which she often didn’t – still smarted, and had turned into that bitter resentment.

She really loved that Cassie didn’t have those cracks and gaps at all. She had two parents who put her first and cared enough about one another to give a very polite and lighthearted shovel-talk to a new partner in the mix.

And Abbie really wanted it all. The vision she could see in her mind – not a player anymore, but a coach. Not avoiding relationships because she didn’t have the time and focus to give to them, but chasing this relationship with Rose, wanting all of the highs and lows, wanting to do them all together.

That feeling carried her right up to the conference room, and Abbie was fucking delighted when she saw that the only seat filled so far was Rose at the head of the table. She had her laptop in front of her, typing away, her eyebrows furrowed.

Abbie cleared her throat, “Hello, Headmaster Elliston.”

Rose slowly turned in her chair but didn’t take her hands or eyes away from her laptop even though she was already ordering, “Do not use that tone right now.”

“What tone?” She asked, shutting the door behind her. They only had a minute or two before other people would be here, but she didn’t want to waste that time.

Rose’s dark eyes left her computer and then narrowed at her, as she leaned back and draped her arms on the sides of her chair. “That tone, where your voice a hoarse and raspy and – you know exactly what tone it was,” she accused.

Abbie’s lips twitched into a grin as she walked toward Rose. “Maybe I did.”

And maybe she remembered every last detail of the way Rose responded to her when Abbie used that tone. The way her eyes would darken and she’d lick her lips, and she’d look at Abbie like she wanted to fucking devour her.

She’d never craved being looked at, before. She’d never taken such absolute pleasure in being stared at, and certainly not like she was a piece of meat.

Which was exactly the way Rose looked at her.

Heat curled low in Abbie’s stomach as she reached Rose.

Who lifted one of her legs and slowly slid it over the other in a deliberately sensual movement, clearly knowing she’d have Abbie’s full attention.

“You know, there’s no version of you that’s not the hottest person in every room,” she only realized she’d spoken the words out loud when they rasped from the back of her throat.

And she fucking loved that her comment seemed to take Rose by surprise. Like she hadn’t expected Abbie to say something like that aloud, not here and now.

But it was true.

Rose, this weekend, in her soft, loose, loungewear, her hair a little messy, no makeup – Abbie wasn’t sure she’d ever desired someone so much in her damn life.

Except, of course, when she saw Rose like this. In her perfectly fitted skirt that hugged her thighs with the way she was sitting, and the way her shirt stretched over her chest…

Abbie, over the course of her life, had never really considered how attractive someone could be in professional clothing. As Norah still loved to tease her about, Abbie always preferred to dress in comfortable clothing, and she’d often been surrounded by woman in athletic and athleisurewear.

But… Rose really pulled this look off. Unsurprisingly.

Maybe it was because of that conversation with Nathan that had stirred her memories from the past, but she could also envision Rose back in the day in their school uniform, and even then, Abbie remembered she’d worn that uniform so well. Aggravatingly well, because teenage-Abbie hadn’t liked how attractive teenage-Rose was.

Rose’s eyebrows inched up. “And – where did that come from?”

“Having eyes,” she answered as she reached Rose, her knees bumping against Abbie’s thighs.

The contact was basically nothing, especially given that Abbie was wearing pants so it’s not even like their bare skin was touching. But she swore she could feel it. Like now that she knew the sensation of Rose’s skin on hers, she could feel the phantom sensation.

“You’re wet,” Rose said, reaching up and touching Abbie’s shirt, plucking it between her fingers as Abbie leaned in, her hands braced on both arms of the chair.

“You have no idea,” she wiggled her eyebrows.

Rose pursed her lips tightly, clearly trying not to give way to a smile, even as she rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I was outside with some of the girls from the team,” she explained dismissively, leaning in to press a kiss to the corner of Rose’s lips.

God, it felt like they hadn’t experienced this in weeks, even though it hadn’t even been a full forty-eight hours since she’d left Rose’s Saturday night.

She felt Rose’s breath shudder out against her, even as Rose maintained such a dignified voice, her shoulders in perfect posture. “What’s wrong with you? You shouldn’t be out there in the rain, Lemon.”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” she breathed back, moving to kiss the other side of Rose’s lips. Feeling the way Rose was clearly trying not to either scoldingly frown or dryly smile, Abbie couldn’t tell. Both would be very Rose.

She just loved that she could feel the movement against her own lips.

“I have a great immune system,” she continued, her voice falling to a murmur, as she placed another kiss – just the whisper of a touch – to the plush center of Rose’s bottom lip.

Her entire body was tingling, begging her to really kiss Rose. A shiver raced through her body, and it was entirely from that slight contact, not even a little bit from the chill settling in. Still, she held back. Teasing both of them with the contact, Rose’s hot breath washing over her lips.

She wanted – needed, really – for it to be Rose’s choice. Anything that happened here, within the walls of the school, needed to be determined by Rose, because she had a lot more on the line. Her name was on the building.

So, she held back from kissing her, whispering, “If you want to kiss me before anyone else arrives to the meet-”

Rose surged up, pressing her mouth solidly to Abbie’s. The hand on Abbie’s shoulder gripped her tightly, Rose’s fingers digging in to the point that Abbie was fairly certain she’d have the bruised outline of Rose’s hand on her skin, and the idea served to send a thrill through her entire body.

The thing that Abbie wasn’t used to yet, even though they’d kissed plenty was how Rose kissed her like she was starving for it. Like she was ready to devour Abbie, and how she didn’t hold anything back from it.

She released little sounds into Abbie’s mouth, and she could feel Rose shift closer to her in the chair. Like she was seconds away from pulling Abbie down against her.

“I–” She attempted to break away and caution Rose. If she got any closer, then Rose would be wet – in the literal, clothing sense – and it would certainly raise a few eyebrows.

Only for Rose to emit something that sounded like a growl, closing the distance between their lips again.

A weak, needy noise escaped the back of Abbie’s throat, heat throbbing between her legs.

She was this close to allowing herself to truly get lost in it, in Rose. So close to straddling her, which seemed to be precisely what Rose was angling for –

Before conversation and the sound of footsteps approached the door, just loud enough to break through the way Abbie’s blood was rushing through her ears.

She jerked back from Rose at the same time that Rose pushed against her shoulder, seemingly becoming aware at the same time as Abbie.

They pulled away from each other, Abbie attempting to stifle how heavy she was breathing and trying not to look guilty – which, she shouldn’t look guilty, because she didn’t do anything wrong, but… still – as Paula, one of their financial advisors, and Vick, a nonprofit specialist, walked in.

Both alumni of Elliston, they’d also served as part of the hiring committee for Abbie over the summer. She waved at them both before dropping into the seat next to Rose. Casual. “Paula, Vick, how are you? Paula, is your cat doing better?”

Paula returned her smile. “Thank you for asking, she’s doing much better after her surgery.”

Vick pulled out his seat, several down from them. “Rose, do you know what this meeting is regarding? The memo was extremely vague. I was only able to make it because a client canceled.”

Abbie could see the tension slide through Rose, as they all turned their attention her way. Which was a huge shame, because she loved non-tense Rose, and that’s exactly who she’d been during their kiss.

She shook her head. “I actually don’t know. But–” She gestured to more people filtering in, “I’m sure we will find out imminently.”

Abbie scooted her chair in closer to Rose’s. Close enough to be able to nudge her foot gently, getting her attention. But then she kept it there, just enjoying having some little contact.

When Rose flit her eyes to Abbie, lifting her eyebrows in acknowledgement, Abbie whispered, “So… what would have happened if people couldn’t have made it to the meeting?”

“It wouldn’t have taken place until we could get a quorum – which is nine people. Same as the hiring committee. But seeing as how ten of us were able to make it…” She trailed off, and Abbie could tell she was holding back a sigh.

Especially when, at the tail-end of the people walking through the door, Preston Cavendish followed Jeffrey, then closed the door behind him.

She could both see and feel that tension build in Rose, the way her shoulders snapped back. “Preston. Surprised to see you here,” she commented as everyone took their seats.

Abbie did not trust the smile that slid over his face, and immediately knew without a doubt that Rose was right to have been suspicious of his arrival. Just based on his expression alone.

She didn’t know if sliding in even closer to Rose would be helpful or not, and she… well, she hated that. Because everything inside of her wanted to be as close to Rose as possible, to let her know that Abbie was here. No matter what bullshit might be attempted, she wasn’t alone.

Preston took his seat with the air of someone who expected to be listened to, with everyone’s attention landing curiously on him, even as Jeffrey officially called the meeting to a start.

And Abbie realized that she should have been paying attention to Jeffrey, because it was he who said, “I know that you all made time to be here at the last minute, and there’s no need to waste your evening any more than necessary. Our meeting today is regarding terminating Abigail Parker’s contract immediately.”

Shock and – well, shock slapped Abbie in the face, her mouth gaping open. “What?!”

Preston looked so fucking smug, as he glanced at her, then looked at Rose as he said, “You heard correctly.”

“On what grounds?” Rose swiftly demanded, and Abbie could hear the fury in her tone, barely concealed.

“She was hired to fulfill two responsibilities: manage the athletics department, and – where we’d put the most faith in her – to turn around our girls’ soccer team. Given that you were also a coach on that team this year, I’m sure you’re aware of the losing record. You didn’t even qualify for the State Championship.” Jeffrey espoused, as if any of that was new information to her. “Are you aware of how much money is filtered in to support that program?”

Abbie was locked in, barely containing herself from jumping out of her seat to propel some of the emotion surging inside of her. “I am well aware of the budget.” She was the one who had meeting after meeting about it! “If you compare the record from last year to this year, you’d see that there was a marked improvement–”

“And it’s not the performance level we were expecting from a “champion athlete,”” Preston used air quotes around the words, lighting Abbie up from the inside-out.

“Are you kidding me?” The words burst from her before she could stop them. “Those girls worked their butts off this year. A team doesn’t go from barely winning a single game to state champions in a single season; I’ve never said I could do that!”

Not only was Abbie a first-time coach, but she was pretty damn sure that would be a difficult feat for anyone, even with a lot of experience under their belt.

“What are you even doing here?” Abbie demanded to know. “You’re not even a member!”

“The Cavendish family’s extremely generous endowments allow my right to sit in on any and all meetings of the Board,” Preston answered in that smarmy tone.

“You can’t call for breaking a contract without a two-thirds majority, Mr. Fletcher. While we can have this meeting with a nine-party quorum, we cannot terminate a contract without twelve votes,” Ms. Belanger interjected, staring at Jeffrey. Her voice was calm and quiet, but cut through the tension in the room like a knife. “Surely you’re aware of that?”

That, at the very least, managed to calm Abbie the slightest bit. But… what the fuck?!

“We can when there has been immoral misconduct,” Preston pushed.

“Immoral misconduct?!” Abbie echoed, her mouth falling open as the blood surged heatedly through her veins, whatever calm she might have found a moment ago disappearing. “What are you even talking about?”

“I’m talking about Coach Parker and Headmaster Elliston engaging in a romantic relationship, while working together as coaches. Going with young, impressionable students to away games, exposing them to–”

Her head was fucking spinning.

“We haven’t exposed anyone to anything. This can’t be serious?” She looked around the table, and was halfway to already deciding to S.O.S. text Caroline to get her here ASAP. Because this couldn’t be legal.

She risked glancing at Rose, whose jaw was locked so tightly, the color in her cheeks dark. And whatever anger she had sort of… melted away. At least, a little bit. Because while this was about Abbie, this was clearly also about Rose.

This kind of exposure, being outed, in this setting and to these people… this had been her worst nightmare for a long time.

“There is no bylaw that states two faculty members cannot be in a romantic relationship. Whether it’s homosexual or not,” Rose’s voice was icy and, frankly, terrifyingly calm.

Calm enough that it told Abbie there was a whole storm underneath, one she was keeping a leash on.

“We can also get a new Headmaster, if need be,” Preston added on, arching them a look. “Quite frankly, I’m thinking that might be a necessity come the end of the year. You’ve been at the helm for less than a year, and I’m not very impressed.”

Rose’s eyes flashed. “And what, exactly, are you not impressed by?”

“Your professional conduct, first and foremost, is flagrantly appalling. Cavorting with her,” he jerked his chin toward Abbie, and the look in his eyes cut through everything else. Cut through the sensation of this not even feeling like real life anymore. “While you’re still married? What moral and ethical example does that set for the students here? I can promise you that I’m not the only wary party, and that’s not taking into account how parents would feel.”

Abbie cut a glare toward Jeffrey, who sat there with his hands folded, as he solemnly nodded along to whatever Preston was saying.

“You can’t talk to her like that,” the words snapped from Abbie’s lips, vibrating with anger at the sneering, holier-than-thou tone Preston had used when he’d looked at Rose.

Rose cut her a look, her jaw tight. “Abbie, I can handle this.”

“That certainly inspires a lot of confidence,” Preston stated. “I want to be very clear: three weeks from now, at our next scheduled meeting, we will be casting a vote to terminate Abbie Parker. And if that vote doesn’t go through, I will not continue to donate to an institution that doesn’t reflect my values.”

Abbie didn’t know, exactly, how much money Preston Cavendish was responsible for donating to Elliston. But when she saw the look on Paula’s face, she knew that was very, very bad.

She and Rose really should have called in sick today.

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