He slept late into the afternoon, and as much as she wanted to stay with him, she needed to clear her head. Bethany left Damon a note, blaming her stomach for her departure, and said that she would see him on Wednesday in the office. She called her mother to come and pick her up around three that afternoon. Nibbling at her lip with worry over her decision, Bethany let out a long sigh of relief as her mother showed up.

She got in the car quickly and flashed a smile at her mom.

"Thank you. Damon's asleep, and it almost felt creepy sitting there watching him." She gave off a nervous laugh as her mom eyed her.

"I'm surprised you just didn't let Kent bring you home. I thought you and Damon didn't get along at all."

"We don't really." Bethany shrugged and fidgeted with the air conditioner, trying to find something to do. "He just wanted to go over the audit and pinpoint areas that I should learn to focus on."

"Bethany ... I know he's a really good-looking guy, but you know he's about to be your brother, right?"

The tone of her mother's voice shifted. There was some hint of understanding in her words. Bethany's stomach contracted painfully as she glanced at her mom.

"There's nothing going on with Damon and me."

"Maybe not, but one of you, or perhaps both, wants there to be something. I heard how passionately you were fighting at the house before the trip, Bethany. No one uses that much energy and emotion unless something lies behind it."

"I'm not having this conversation." Bethany turned and looked out the window, feeling all of ten years old again. Going back to Kent's was a mistake. She needed to pack her shit and get back to campus. She would go into the office the next day, wrap up a few things, and then have lunch with Philip. After that, she was headed to meet with the professor she would be spending the rest of her semester trying to impress. Being a teaching assistant wasn't at all her idea of a good time, but it wasn't up for discussion. Master’s degree students were required to spend two semesters giving back for a reduced rate.

"Okay, but I'm here when you need to."

"I won't," she barked out, wanting to crawl into a hole and disappear. It wasn't so much that her mother was aware of something brewing between her and Damon, or that she had called her out on it. It was that she was right. He was going to be her brother soon. Why did she keep pushing that to the back of her mind as if it didn't matter?

It was all that mattered.

Damon hadn't called the night before, which was probably for the better. Bethany walked into her office Wednesday morning with a heaviness that didn't sit well with her. She needed to talk to someone about everything, but who? Maybe getting back to her friends that evening would help some. She could spend the night talking everything out with her best friend, Krista. It would be good to see Jake again too. The awkwardness had all but dissipated between the two of them for sure.

"So they let you in the building?" Sadie's voice pulled Bethany from her thoughts.

"Make whatever you're here to say quick. I'm not in the mood for you this morning." Bethany let out a shallow sigh and sat down in her chair. Black slacks and a silky black blouse was her choice of attire that morning, dark colors for a shitty mood.

"I actually wanted to thank you." Sadie reached up and ran her fingertips down the perfect bridge of her nose. "I had to get a nose job thanks to you being psychotic. The surgeon did a really good job. I didn't realize how much I hated my old nose."

Bethany lifted an eyebrow; her sense of hearing must have been off. "Come again?"

"It's true." Sadie laughed, a smile touching the fiery bitch’s mouth. It was the most genuine thing Bethany had seen from the girl since they met. "I'm sorry for being a bitch. I hate making new friends, but ... well, we're all going out tonight if you want to come."

"All I had to do was punch you in the face to get you to lay off?"

"I guess so. I feel much better about myself. The nose is good, right?" Sadie turned and wagged her eyebrows.

Bethany laughed, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Maybe things would start to look up from here. She and Damon and were on the fritz, sort of, but maybe other parts of Bethany's life could start coming together. The tension between her and Sadie had begun to affect everyone in the last week, so maybe the fight was a good thing.

"The nose is good."

"You coming tonight?"

"I'll see what the day looks like. I need to go back to campus this afternoon to start working on my master’s pre-work." Bethany reached over and started her computer, working to keep her voice neutral. She was still in shock that the conversation was even happening but wanted to hold her cards tightly to her chest. Could be a setup. Sadie wasn't beyond it.

"Are you two having a normal conversation?" Ben stopped at the door by Sadie as Bethany smirked toward them.

"I think we are," Sadie replied and moved back out into the hall. "All right, well, we're meeting downstairs at six. Feel free to invite Philip or whoever you're seeing now."

"Thanks." Bethany motioned for Ben to come into her office.

"How was Seattle?" he asked, taking a seat and repositioning his bright blue tie.

"It was okay. I wasn't much help, but I don't suppose they expected me to be."

"You guys get everything sorted out?"

"They did." She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "Are you going to this outing tonight?"

"Yeah. It's just to a local bar."

"Another club?" Bethany mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"No. Just a bar. We're going to have a few drinks. I'm going. You should come with us."

"I'll see. I was hoping to catch up with some old friends back on campus."

"Damon an ass while you guys were there?"

"He was pretty stressed out. He had his moments."

"I hear he and his girlfriend are having issues. I would just steer clear of him. He always acts like this when he's upset about stuff." Ben smoothed his hand down his chest, flattening the tie before standing. "Anyways, keep that on the down-low, but I know you have to interact with him a lot, so don't take anything personal."

His girlfriend? Was Ben referring to her and he didn't know? Bethany was aware that she was far from his girlfriend, but surely the senior associate in front of her wasn't talking about a different woman that Damon was seeing. Was he?

"Will do. I didn't know he was seeing anyone." She stood, unable to remain comfortable while Ben looked down at her.

"Yeah, some girl that's had him wrapped around her finger for a while. He won't give up the goods. He never does." Ben laughed and walked out, calling over his shoulder. "Call if you need me."

"I will," Bethany muttered before sitting back down. She would have to drown herself in work until lunchtime, or the idea of Ben talking about another woman in Damon's life was sure to undo her.

Her phone buzzed just before twelve. She picked it up and smiled, grateful for the distraction of having lunch with Philip. Her intent had been to use the poor guy to make Damon jealous, but that had changed. She couldn't do it, and honestly, Damon had shifted recently back more into the guy she wanted to know than the one she saw in the office the day before.

"Guess sex on a plane changes things." She slipped to the back of the elevator, their intimate conversation the day before washing over her. His arms had been so tight around her, his strong body curved against hers. He was everything she wanted, and yet with every subtle step she took forward, he seemed to leap back. It wasn't meant to be,. but could she stop pressing forward in hopes that it would become something great regardless?

She slipped off the elevator with a large group of people; her body warmed at the idea of exploring everything Damon wanted to do to her. She wanted the opportunity to be a bad girl in front of him—for him—only him.

"There you are." Philip walked up and reached out, his fingers grazing her arm.

"Sorry. I got wrapped up in an assignment. How are you?"

"I'm really good. I grabbed sandwiches and chips for us. That okay?"

"Sounds great. How do you know what I like on my sandwich?" Bethany moved to the small table and took a seat, reaching to pick up the dark drink he moved toward her.

"I made a few assumptions. I figured if you didn't like any of this, I'd just go get you a damned chocolate donut."

She laughed and picked up the bag of Doritos between them, three different bags still sitting on the table. "I hate that you spent all this money."

"It's no big deal. I got an internship at another big firm. I start next Monday."

"Oh, that's great news." Bethany sat back, letting the lovely sound of his voice wash over her. He was handsome and kind. That he was her age, and not looking to make her feel like an idiot or bend her over a desk, sat in his favor.

She wanted so badly to like him, to invite him into her world and let it be the two of them that worked toward creating a relationship, but she couldn't.

"Philip. What a surprise." Damon.

Bethany glanced up as she slipped another chip into her mouth. Damon's gaze was light and almost friendly as he extended his hand toward Philip.

Philip shook it, his lip quivering slightly as Bethany watched him. "Yes, sir. Just having lunch with Bethany. I mean no disrespect."

"No, it's me who owes the apology. I read over the files after everything calmed down and realized the error of my ways. Your job is yours if you want it back."

Damon almost sounded sincere, but something about his expression begged the question.

"I appreciate that, sir, but I've accepted a position elsewhere."

"Our loss then." Damon's eyes moved across the table, stopping on Bethany for only a moment. "Enjoy your lunch date then."

"How can I not?" Philip laughed as Damon's smirk slid into a smile.

"I agree. An intelligent woman, great roast beef and the world at your fingertips." Damon started to move, stopping only to glance back at Bethany for a moment.

"Good job this weekend. Nice reminder of what you're capable of. I almost underestimated you." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Bethany turned back to Philip as Damon walked off, his comment a sucker punch directly to her stomach. She hadn't done anything but slut herself out to the sexy man walking away from her. His cryptic message hurt. He was poking at her hard. The lust versus love conversation wasn't going to die anytime soon between them.

She tried hard to focus on the handsome boy before her, but the minute they wrapped up lunch, she headed to visit with her boss. They needed to discuss a few things, and none of them could wait any longer.