Read Online Blurred Lines by M. Lynne Cunning - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: M. Lynne Cunning
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off guard, and the mischievous grin that followed them made her stomach knot in apprehension. She opened her mouth twice, intent on saying something that would diffuse the topic, but instead she was halted with a gentle pat of Dean’s hand against hers and a wink.
“I’ll let you two talk about whatever it is women talk about.” Dean squeezed her hand before getting to his feet. As he slung his laptop bag onto his shoulder and plucked his to-go cup from the table, he set his eyes on Lauren once more. “Please let Libby know it was a pleasure to meet her. See you in class tomorrow, Sarah.” She watched him turn and walk out of the cafe, the bell above the door sending a shrill toll throughout the room. She then turned to see Libby receive her change back from the barista and head back to the table, a to-go cup in hand.
“Where’d he go?” Libby asked, staring at the closed door as though it held the answer.
“He wanted to work on his assignment, I think,” Lauren lied. Well, maybe he was, but she was convinced he’d departed in that moment so she would be left with their conversation on her mind. Had he been joking when he questioned whether or not there was something going on between them? Surely, he must have been.
“Oh.” Libby pulled the third chair back to the table beside them and sat down in the one Dean had vacated. “Well, that means we can talk about him now, at least. I think he likes you, you know.” Libby’s eyes lit up like a hopeless romantic watching the ending of a chick flick. Lauren loved romanticizing things just as much as the next person, but it was a little different when the subject was yourself. And the love interest wasn’t your husband.
“I thought we were going to discuss the new assignment, or even something class related?” Her coffee was growing cold, but Lauren didn’t care. She took a sip from it to gain a few moments to plan how best to steer the conversation in another direction. Libby, however, had plans of her own.
“Come on, Sarah, he’s interested in you. Who wants to discuss class and assignments when we can sit here, get a caffeine jolt, and talk about him and how he’s been keeping an eye on you?”
Lauren shook her head, but was admittedly a bit amused. “You’re being dramatic.”
“No, I’m being honest. You’re being blind. Besides, we’re women, aren’t we supposed to be dramatic?” Libby laughed, shaking her finger at Lauren in mock scolding.
Lauren held her hands up in surrender. “We were partners in class once, so now we should hook up?” She chuckled.
“Everyone knows you two wrote that sexy little assignment Anthony was raving about.”
Libby’s revelation made Lauren stop and think. How did everyone know that? Anthony must have told someone or made reference to them in some way. However, the more she thought about it, she had to ask herself, why did it matter? Why keep hidden the fact that she and Dean had written such a beautiful piece of work? Did it hurt anyone to know they were the creators of it?
“I didn’t realize it was public knowledge,” Lauren said.
“Oh, trust me, it is.”
“We followed the instructions and wrote a poem. It wasn’t a big clandestine affair.” She tried to make light of it, shrugging before taking another drink of her cold coffee.
“Are you seeing anybody?”
Lauren watched Libby’s gaze drift to her hands wrapped around the cup in front of her. For the second time that day, she found herself unsure of what to say. She knew the correct answer, the right thing to do. What she needed to do was be honest with Libby and Dean and tell them her name wasn’t Sarah. She had a husband at home in Texas and she was struggling to play the part of her main character in her novel in real life as a way of seeing how she reacted in everyday situations.
She should be honest with everyone, including herself. This was a bad idea that had already gone too far, she just hadn’t realized how far it had
“I’ll let you two talk about whatever it is women talk about.” Dean squeezed her hand before getting to his feet. As he slung his laptop bag onto his shoulder and plucked his to-go cup from the table, he set his eyes on Lauren once more. “Please let Libby know it was a pleasure to meet her. See you in class tomorrow, Sarah.” She watched him turn and walk out of the cafe, the bell above the door sending a shrill toll throughout the room. She then turned to see Libby receive her change back from the barista and head back to the table, a to-go cup in hand.
“Where’d he go?” Libby asked, staring at the closed door as though it held the answer.
“He wanted to work on his assignment, I think,” Lauren lied. Well, maybe he was, but she was convinced he’d departed in that moment so she would be left with their conversation on her mind. Had he been joking when he questioned whether or not there was something going on between them? Surely, he must have been.
“Oh.” Libby pulled the third chair back to the table beside them and sat down in the one Dean had vacated. “Well, that means we can talk about him now, at least. I think he likes you, you know.” Libby’s eyes lit up like a hopeless romantic watching the ending of a chick flick. Lauren loved romanticizing things just as much as the next person, but it was a little different when the subject was yourself. And the love interest wasn’t your husband.
“I thought we were going to discuss the new assignment, or even something class related?” Her coffee was growing cold, but Lauren didn’t care. She took a sip from it to gain a few moments to plan how best to steer the conversation in another direction. Libby, however, had plans of her own.
“Come on, Sarah, he’s interested in you. Who wants to discuss class and assignments when we can sit here, get a caffeine jolt, and talk about him and how he’s been keeping an eye on you?”
Lauren shook her head, but was admittedly a bit amused. “You’re being dramatic.”
“No, I’m being honest. You’re being blind. Besides, we’re women, aren’t we supposed to be dramatic?” Libby laughed, shaking her finger at Lauren in mock scolding.
Lauren held her hands up in surrender. “We were partners in class once, so now we should hook up?” She chuckled.
“Everyone knows you two wrote that sexy little assignment Anthony was raving about.”
Libby’s revelation made Lauren stop and think. How did everyone know that? Anthony must have told someone or made reference to them in some way. However, the more she thought about it, she had to ask herself, why did it matter? Why keep hidden the fact that she and Dean had written such a beautiful piece of work? Did it hurt anyone to know they were the creators of it?
“I didn’t realize it was public knowledge,” Lauren said.
“Oh, trust me, it is.”
“We followed the instructions and wrote a poem. It wasn’t a big clandestine affair.” She tried to make light of it, shrugging before taking another drink of her cold coffee.
“Are you seeing anybody?”
Lauren watched Libby’s gaze drift to her hands wrapped around the cup in front of her. For the second time that day, she found herself unsure of what to say. She knew the correct answer, the right thing to do. What she needed to do was be honest with Libby and Dean and tell them her name wasn’t Sarah. She had a husband at home in Texas and she was struggling to play the part of her main character in her novel in real life as a way of seeing how she reacted in everyday situations.
She should be honest with everyone, including herself. This was a bad idea that had already gone too far, she just hadn’t realized how far it had
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