Tim + Lucy = ?

Lucy and Tamara

#104daysofsummervacation
#104daysofchenford
#Day6

Lucy was eating cereal at the breakfast bar when Tamara walked in, rubbing her eyes. Lucy waited until Tamara had a hot cup of the black coffee she enjoyed so much before she said anything. She disliked her mind for reminding her that that was the way Tim took his coffee.

"Tamara, can we talk?"
"We can...if it'll make you feel better."
"What's that supposed to mean?"

She took a long sip from the steaming mug before providing a careful response. "It means, that as far as I'm concerned, what happened last night was not a big deal. UC work, yeah, you need to practice stuff like that. You, on the other hand, feel the need to clarify that to me. Probably because you believe I have misperceptions about what actually went down in our living room last night. The thing is, you cleared that up for me within the first 10 seconds I was standing in the doorway. Yet you still feel the need to 'talk' to me about it. You need to defend your position. Now, I understand the scenario. So why exactly do you think I need a rehashing of what went down?"

She was stunned. After wrestling most of the night with the emotions that flared up during and after the 'incident' she had devoted the rest of it to come up with a literal position of defense for Tamara's sake. But now that Tamara made it clear what she knew, was it really for Tamara's benefit?

Tamara slurping down the rest of her coffee attracted her focus. "Look, Lucy, if all it was was UC prep, then fine. I'll believe you. But just consider this: from the looks of things, if I hadn't walked in then, you would have kept going."
"Wha-" Tamara held her hand up.
"Shh. I'm going to say this. You spent way too much time trying to come up with an argument with the intent of convincing me that it was nothing more than 'work.' Why would you do that unless you believed there was any stronger interpretation I could have taken away from it? I'm a smart girl Lucy. Neither of you is the cheating type, and I would have heard about it if the both of you broke up with Chris and Ashley. So the only logical conclusion after that point would have been, that it's a work thing. But you, for some reason, assumed that I would immediately pin you as a new thing. Call me crazy, but that's likely because you've thought about it."

She was trapped within the walls of her mind. She couldn't speak. "I've got to go get ready, I'll see you this evening, Lucy." All she could do was nod.

Tamara was right. At least her reasoning was pretty on point. Why would she come up with a long-winded excuse for something that didn't need one? It was pointless and a waste of her time. Tamara was the only one who knew what had happened and wouldn't be telling anyone. She had nothing to worry about.

Until she got to work and had to face Tim. But that didn't have to be a big deal either. It was just work. Any silly little emotional flare-ups were normal reactions.

As she got ready, she tried not to think about the kiss. She tried to forget the fact that despite the way she relegated the emotional response as 'normal' that any kiss she had shared with Chris was nothing like the one she had shared with Tim. In fact, no one else had made her feel the way she had felt with Tim's lips on hers.

But obstinately, she persisted in her belief. Because it was just work.