Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Esther slowly pulled her shirt over her head and threw it into the laundry basket next to her closet. She stared at the open door to the bedroom as she took off her pants, underwear, and bra, and put everything in the laundry except the bra, which she kept out to wear the next day.

  Sliding back onto the mattress just as the front door snicked shut and the locks clicked into place, Esther spread her legs and moved her fingers between them. Melanie had managed to find her way into her heart, and perhaps just as important as the way Esther had let her in was that she didn’t seem to fear Skip in the same way Esther did. Several encounters in one week and all she had done was protect and push against him. Could it be possible that she had not only found a match for herself but for Skip as well?

  “Now that is unexpectedly sexy.” Melanie’s voice was low, full of lust and desire. She shut the bedroom door behind her, dropped her bag, and dragged her jacket off her shoulders. She didn’t even bother to get undressed before sitting on the bed and pressing kisses to the insides of Esther’s thighs as Esther slid a finger inside herself.

  Heat rose to Esther’s cheeks, not just from arousal but from comfort. She found that same arousal, that same compassion and desire in Melanie’s gaze. Esther wanted to dream of a future with Melanie, of more than just that night or the next, of more than just this year at Irving. Her lips parted as Melanie’s mouth covered her, and she moved her hand above her head to grip onto the pillow.

  She wanted more than what life had been for the last five years. She had done her best to take care of Anthony, to protect him from the father he had, to save herself if she could in that entire process, and she’d forgotten there was so much more to living than just protecting. Esther sighed out pleasure and hope as Melanie’s tongue swiped against her, as her hips rocked into Melanie’s mouth.

  Did she dare to think about being happy again?

  Reaching down suddenly, Esther gripped Melanie’s short hair as she rode through her orgasm, her hips moving in time with Melanie’s teasing, heat rushing up her chest followed by a cool tingle as her orgasm flowed through her entire body. Esther clenched her eyes shut, a tear slipping from the corner as she released everything and let it flow away from her.

  Melanie rested her chin on Esther’s hip, staring up at her as she traced soothing patterns against her thigh. “That seemed like a good one.”

  “Y-yeah,” Esther said, her voice breaking on the word. She swallowed, hardly able to talk again and form actual coherent sentences. “But you’re still dressed.”

  Melanie’s grin was one of the most beautiful things Esther had ever seen. She couldn’t help but mirror it, joy filling her to the point it nearly overwhelmed her. Melanie stripped down as Esther lay still on the bed, watching the strip tease for what it was, practical, pure, and—dare she think—loving and normal.

  Melanie climbed onto the bed, naked in all her glory, and Esther turned on her side, finding her way between Melanie’s legs in an instant to play with the coarse hair, the hot lips, the slick heat. Melanie kissed her, their tongues tangling in a messy but unrestrained embrace. Esther’s heart soared, she put her whole self into the kiss, into fingering Melanie so she could have the distraction that she wanted, the release she needed to finish out her day.

  As Melanie came down from her high, Esther curled against her side. She threw her arm around Melanie’s hips, tracing her thumb in circles and dropping gentle kisses wherever she could reach. Randomly, she would slide her tongue in delicate patterns along Melanie’s bare chest, sometimes to her erect nipple, but none of it was done to entice. Esther just wanted to be with her, to have this lazy moment of being encircled in Melanie’s arms, when she could listen to the quiet noises they both made as they breathed and shifted. She wanted to linger in the silence.

  Eventually, Melanie turned on her side fully and pulled Esther’s back against her front, wrapping her up in a sweet hug. She nuzzled her nose into the back of Esther’s neck. Esther stayed there in the quiet—comfortable, peaceful for the first time in as long as she could remember. Was this happiness? Because if it was, she wanted more of it.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The school halls were filled with noise as students came into the building, excitedly talking to one another and the teachers. Esther stood outside in the chilly air, holding her mug of coffee close to her face and wishing she was inside. She rolled her shoulders as Skip’s black truck finally pulled into the drop-off line.

  Esther clenched her jaw and held her stance, not moving closer to the vehicle. Anthony could very easily find his own way inside the school at that point, and she wasn’t about to put herself in the line of fire from Skip any more than she had to. He’d conveniently picked Anthony up from daycare the previous day for a short week with him instead of the normal full week he was supposed to have.

  Thus far, since Melanie had spoken to him at the capitol, he had talked to her only via text message. Which was a blessing and a curse in her estimation. She didn’t have to listen to him yell, but at the same time, she knew he was upset, and that she would likely feel his wrath sooner or later.

  Anthony hopped out of the car, with a brilliant smile on his face as he ran straight for her, wrapping his arms around her hips as he pressed his face into her in a tight hug. Esther bent down, nuzzling her face into his hair so she could smell him and instantly regretting it as he smelled so much like Skip in that moment. At least her ex-boyfriend had bathed their son. That was something.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Hey, Mom.” He grinned up at her. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too, sweetie. Did you get breakfast at Dad’s?” It was a nicer way of asking if he still needed to eat versus just asking if his father had fed him or left it all up to her and the district, a bill that Esther knew he wouldn’t pay no matter how many times she took him to court for it. He hadn’t paid child support in five years either.

  “I’m starving!”

  Esther grinned at him and nodded toward the front doors. “Better get in, then.”

  Anthony hugged her again before racing toward the door and inside. When Esther lifted her chin to watch the rest of the line, she was startled to find Skip no more than a few feet in front of her with a scowl on his face.

  Every warning bell in her body and her brain went off at the same time. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Skip clenched his jaw, that vein in the center of his forehead popping out, and she knew she was going to get yelled at. She could only hope he wouldn’t touch her since they were in front of a bunch of students and parents.

  “You put ideas in his head.”

  “Excuse me?” Esther answered, her voice breaking.

  “You put ideas in his head about you and that teacher.” He spat out the last word as if Melanie were a bug he could step on.

  Esther knew he would try, but that with Melanie he very likely wouldn’t succeed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You know what he did all night last night? He talked about this bill, about why you were so opposed to it.” Skip stepped in closer to her, his cheeks reddening in anger, not from the cold air outside.

  Esther paled as cold washed over her. “I haven’t said anything to him.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second. All he did was try to tell me why this bill is so wrong.” Skip narrowed his gaze. “I didn’t think you would be so stupid as to try and use Anthony against me this way.”

  Esther’s lips parted as she tried to find an answer. Anthony must have heard her talking with Melanie about it at some point because she had never directly said anything to him, and Melanie hadn’t been alone with him either. Except that one morning…

  No. She couldn’t think like that. Esther trusted Melanie, implicitly. Melanie had never done anything to make her think otherwise, not to mention she understood what children should and shouldn’t know. Esther wiggled her shoulders.

  “He must have overheard me talking about it, but I didn’t tell him my opinion on the matter.”

  “Your opinion?” Skip moved into her space. “You don’t get to have an opinion, Esther. You don’t get to do anything I don’t approve of.”

  She darted her gaze around, wondering how much of a spectacle they were making. Johanna started toward them, but Esther shook her head as they made eye contact and silently begged her not to come closer. She didn’t need to be embarrassed any more than she already was. Yet she also knew that if Skip tried anything physical, people were watching.

  “I’m pretty sure my existence is something you don’t approve of,” Esther answered him, lifting her chin in defiance. She felt safe here. Whether it was because of Chris and Melanie or being surrounded by people or just being done with all of Skip’s bullshit, she had no idea, but she felt safe.

  Skip glowered. “You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

  Esther struggled to find her voice again because she was so used to shutting up when he took that tone with her.

  “I’ll make you pay if you talk to me like that again. You won’t ever see your son. No one will believe anything you say, and you can kiss your career goodbye.”

  Esther tightened her jaw, trying to make sure she spoke rationally to him, that she kept her cool in front of all the people moving around. Johanna was by her side in a second, and her heart sunk as embarrassment settled in.

  “All you tell is lies,” Skip said. “And I’ll make sure everyone knows that.”

  “I think you should leave,” Esther stated, her voice soft as she moved her gaze from him to the crowd watching them. “This is a discussion we can have somewhere else.”

  She knew in retrospect that it would do her better to have the conversation in front of witnesses, but she couldn’t take the embarrassment anymore.

  Skip snorted in her face, his lips turning up into a sickening smile. He knew he had her. He knew there was nothing she could do in that moment unless he touched her, which he hadn’t done yet. For all the rest of the people knew, he was an angry parent and she was the teacher to his child, and this wasn’t any type of domestic argument.

  Esther lowered her gaze and stared at the sidewalk between them, hoping it would be enough of a deterrent to end the conversation as civilly as possible. Luckily, she knew Anthony was nowhere in sight. He didn’t have to witness this. Skip was so good at making sure he wasn’t there to see anything, to hear anything. That was why he was so mad to begin with. She hadn’t been careful enough. She cursed herself for it, too. She should have known better than to say anything with Anthony in the vicinity. But she’d gotten careless.

  “Don’t try something like this again, or you’ll really understand the effect I can have on you.” Skip’s nose wrinkled at her, staring her down before he shook his head slowly at her. “You’re such a disgrace as a mother.”

  Without another word, he walked to his truck and got in, speeding off and nearly hitting another vehicle as he pulled out from the curb. Esther let out a shuddering breath, tears pricking her eyes. She looked at the ground as she pulled herself together, and when she turned toward the front door of the school to make sure Anthony wasn’t there, she was surprised to find Chris staring at her.

  “Are you good?” Chris asked.

  “Yeah,” Esther answered, her voice wavering. “I promise.”

  “My door is open.”

  “I know.” Overcome with embarrassment, Esther stared at the sidewalk again and prayed no one asked her anything else. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle it.

  Melanie walked into The Office with a lightness to her step. As soon as she rounded the corner to the back room where they held parties, everyone cheered for her, clapping hands, whooping and whistling. She almost felt like taking a bow, but she didn’t. Instead, she reluctantly waved her hand at everyone who was there.

  The chatter in the room was at an all time high, but the crowd was also much larger than it normally was. Chris handed her a drink and bumped shoulders with her. “You did it.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Sure you did.” Chris winked at her. “Do you think the Senate would have listened to just anyone?”

  “Yes.” Melanie cocked her head to the side and smiled.

  “They wouldn’t have,” Chris disagreed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her in tight. “There’s cake!”

  “Cake? Really?” Melanie squinted around the room, the crowd already mingling now that she wasn’t the center of the attention.

  “Yes!” Chris grinned. “You’re the star of the night.”

  “Hardly.” Melanie would much rather hide behind the scenes like she had been doing than stand in front of everyone again. She was glad the bill hadn’t passed, but she hardly believed that her statement had made that much of a difference. She always figured that by the time things got in front of the Senate, their minds were already made up on the matter and there was no challenging or changing them.

  Melanie skimmed the room, talking to people here and there as she looked for one in particular, but Esther wasn’t there. At least not from what she could see. She knew Skip had Anthony that week, but she also knew he was regularly a flake about which weeks were his, so Esther could very well have ended up with Anthony again.

  It took a few more minutes, but she was able to pull out her phone and discreetly check for messages. The other problem was they would be surrounded by teachers, and in front of teachers, they needed to remain as only friends. But all Melanie wanted to do was touch her, flirt with her, be with her. She’d never had that experience with someone before, and it was such a difference from her norm that she knew it had to be real.

  The party continued, Melanie moving from person to person as they celebrated and congratulated her. She never felt she deserved it, as though she was a complete imposter for getting the credit. Finally, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Esther slip into the room. Chris was immediately by her side, thankfully, because Melanie knew that Esther would be uncomfortable in the crowd.

  She kept slipping glances to Esther while she tried to escape the conversation with Kelsey’s replacement, Isla, and Johanna, but she didn’t manage it for a good twenty minutes. Finally when she broke free of them, she caught Esther’s attention and nodded her head toward the door. Esther understood her move and headed that direction. Melanie bided her time, waiting a couple more minutes before she slipped through the crowd and out the door down toward the bathrooms and then the back door of the bar and grill.

  It was the same way they had gone before, but this time it was for entirely different reasons. Melanie’s stomach was full of anticipation as she stepped out into the cold air, not having taken her jacket with her so goosebumps lined her arms and back. Esther leaned against the brick wall to the building, looking pure and innocent.

  Grinning at her, Melanie stepped right up to her with one quick glance around to see if anyone was there before she pressed their mouths together in a quick and heated kiss. She couldn’t wait until the school year was done and they could come out with their relationship, when she could freely hold Esther’s hand in front of their friends and coworkers and not have to worry what other people would think about it.

  Melanie sighed into Esther, using her body, her heat, her energy to soothe. She needed it more than she had anticipated. Finding out that morning that the Senate hadn’t passed the bill had been brilliant. She’d been elated, and the one person she had wanted to share it with had been nowhere to be found.

  When she pulled back, Melanie wrapped her arms around Esther and tugged her in for a hug. She didn’t want to let go. She wanted to ditch everyone and go home, spend every minute possible with the woman in her arms.

  “I love you,” Melanie murmured, dropping her forehead to Esther’s shoulder. “I really do.”

  Esther stiffened for a moment before she relaxed, sliding into Melanie’s grasp. Yet she didn’t say anything in response. She just held onto Melanie, running her hands up and down Melanie’s back.

  Finally, Melanie pulled away slightly so she could look into Esther’s gray-blue eyes. She had gotten so good at reading the emotions behind those eyes in the past seven, nearly eight, months, and she wanted to read everything in them. Reaching up, Melanie played her fingers across Esther’s lips until she cupped her cheek.

  “I do mean that.”

  “I know you do.” Esther’s face was stoic, but Melanie could tell that she’d been heard, that Esther believed her. “I love you, too. And I think I knew that after today.”

  “What do you mean? Because of the bill?”

  Esther shook her head and leaned against the wall again, closing her eyes. “I had a visit from Skip this morning in the drop-off line.”

  “What did he do?” Immediately, Melanie wanted to protect.

  “Nothing too obnoxious, but he was close.”

  “Close to what?” Melanie probed, needing the answers to the unasked but assumed questions now more than ever.

  Esther raised her eyes to meet Melanie’s. “It’s a good thing he did what he did in the drop-off line.”

  “Because if you’d been alone…?” Esther didn’t have to answer for Melanie to know what would have happened. She wished Esther would say it out loud, that she would confess everything Skip had done to her, but her reactions said it all. She had been abused, and maybe not just by him, but she had been strong enough, wily enough to get out, to save herself and her son. Kissing her again, sweetly this time, Melanie gave Esther as much support as she could in that moment. “You’re safe with me. I promise you.”

  “I know,” Esther whispered, wrapping herself tightly in Melanie’s embrace. “I do know that. It’s why I love you. I’m not just saying that—”

  “I never thought you would be someone who would just say that.” Melanie’s mouth twitched up in the corners. “God, I do love you though. All the damn layers, the hard ones and the soft ones. I love the way you can roll your eyes at someone without actually rolling your eyes.”