CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Students filedin with their January blues, while Sylvie slowed down to avoid skipping into the staff room. The Christmas week had transformed her from the inside out. She smiled at the memory of Ade’s tongue on her skin and blushed as the reverb of the touch sent her pulse skyward. She rejoined her colleagues with an ache in her center, missing the solid weight of Ade’s body between her legs.
How could normal life continue when they’d been wrapped in each other’s arms just a few short hours ago? Sylvie had left Ade in her apartment, insisting they arrive at the campus separately to avoid suspicion. Not that she was ashamed, and she’d made that more than clear this morning, as she’d knelt at Ade’s feet, planting sleepy, tender kisses to her thighs. It was just easier to avoid the questions and protocols of having a relationship at work—if that’s what it was. They hadn’t discussed labeling what they had.
The only thing that Sylvie was certain of was the physical yearning she couldn’t satiate, no matter how many hours she’d spent on her back trying to.
Isa scrutinized Sylvie’s face more thoroughly than usual. “Good morning, Professor Boucher. Looking very perky for a January morning.”
Sylvie braced for an interrogation, as if last night’s sex was written all over her face. Not much escaped Isa’s notice. “Happy New Year to you. How was your break?”
“Marvelous, and over far too quickly. How is it we’re back here so soon, responsible for the education of our wayward young adults?”
“Time flies…” Sylvie left the sentence hanging, not wishing to describe exactly how much fun she had been having.
“You seem different. Have you done something with your hair?”
She’d been combatting bedhead for the last four days, but she didn’t think that was a suitable answer.
“What’s with you?” Isa asked, her brow furrowing so far it almost met in the center. “Why are you silent?”
Sylvie wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up. “I’m simply strolling into campus with my work bestie. Nothing more, nothing less.” She wasn’t ready to share the details with anyone, wanting to keep the ecstasy that Ade had brought all to herself for now. Her breath caught when she saw Ade striding toward the science block. She wasn’t near enough to warrant a conversation, but her proximity sent a rush of fiery wanting through her, heating her cheeks.
“Oh my. Have you?” Isa sidestepped a group of students coming toward them and dragged Sylvie by the elbow into a quiet alcove. She looked upward, as if to check if anyone could eavesdrop. “Have you and Ade been…you know?”
Sylvie closed her eyes against the glare of Ade’s scrutiny. She couldn’t lie. And she didn’t want to deny Ade. “Yes. We have.”
“What the fuck?” Isa whispered, her face animated with confusion, curiosity, and glee. “Well, this makes the January return much more fun.”
“It made Christmas pretty interesting too.” Sylvie clamped her hand to her mouth.
“Tell meeverything.”
Sylvie snuck a look around her, checking for wayward students. Telling Isa the truth was one thing, declaring it to the whole campus was quite another. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Don’t give me that. You know the start, middle, and ending of everything. Now don’t spare any details. I want to know exactly how hot that mysterious post-grad is.”
Sylvie cringed. She didn’t want to reduce Ade to gossip. Whatthey’d experienced over the holidays was so much more than that. “Ade is pretty special.”
“Yeah. Special and hot as fuck. Come on: scale of one to ten.” Isa folded her arms.
“Ten,” said Sylvie, without hesitation.
“Whoa,” Isa stepped back in surprise. “You’re serious then. She’s that special?”
Sylvie wasn’t sure how serious they were, but she couldn’t dismiss their connection as anything frivolous or trivial. “We’ve had an amazing few days together.”
Isa leaned back against the wall, as if they were teenagers hiding during their break. “What now though? You’re both back at work. Are you going to tell Paul?”
Sylvie rested against the building, unable to hold the weight of expectation and responsibilities she now faced. Why couldn’t she and Ade have carried on just as they were, hidden in the fog of festivity, with no reason to leave her apartment except for the odd pastry and fresh baguette. “I haven’t thought about it. I wanted to get through today and talk to Ade.”
“So it’s an ‘us’ problem, is it?” Isa smirked.
Maybe it was. Sylvie didn’t think it would be fair to go to the head of their department without consulting Ade, not that she’d really care either way since she was a temporary member of university staff. It was Sylvie with the bigger stake in all this.
“I knew there was something about you this morning.” Isa winked before wrapping her arm around Sylvie’s shoulders. “Don’t have too much fun and forget your friends though, will you? We have that quiz night this week.”
The date had fallen from Sylvie’s memory. Perhaps Ade could come along. It was a faculty event, and she was part of the team. “I won’t. But I’d better get to class. See you later.”
