I threw a pillow at her. “I'm not stupid enough to do that. I mean, sleeping with my professor, no matter how spectacularly good-looking, is so not my style. Besides, I still have some unresolved Easton business. I’m not just going to sleep with some guy.” No matter how much Lex tempted me.

Faith waggled her eyebrows. “So, you do think he's nice to look at.”

“Yes, well, I'm not immune to the good looks, for the love of God. I mean he's very pretty. But honestly, he doesn’t do it for me. Besides, I’m here to learn from him.”

Faith leaned in conspiratorially. “Just what is he teaching you? Has he got some fabulous technique or something? Come on, give a lonely girl a thrill.”

I giggled. “You’re incorrigible, Faith.”

She grinned. “Wait till I tell Sophie. She'll get to the truth of the matter.”

Sophie. I hadn’t thought about that. Sophie was friends with Alexi. What if she knew everything? There’s nothing to know. Besides, Lex hadn’t been so keen on everyone knowing his business either.

“You two are ridiculous.” Then in an attempt to change the subject, I asked. “Are the three of us still meeting for lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I think I'm open, and honestly, Sophie lives one of those fabulous lifestyles where I can never seem to pin her down on what she's doing. So who knows if she'll be there. Abbie?”

I glanced up at my friend. “Yeah, Faith?”

“You know you’re not doing anything wrong, right? If you were to start seeing someone. I know we tease you a little bit, but at the end of the day, you’re a free agent.”

I exhaled. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just wish my past wasn’t intruding on my present.”

Faith chewed her bottom lip. “Well, you won’t know until you talk to him, but don’t let him push you into a corner that doesn’t give you what you want. That's just my two pence.”

I gave her a soft smile. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

“What are mates for? Now I'll leave you to either deal with your boyfriend or your hot teacher. Maybe I'll call Liam. All this talk of you getting some has made me miss him even more.”

After Faith left, I stared at my mobile, my fingers itching to call Lex back. Instead of placing the call I wanted to, I shifted back to my laptop and Skyped Easton as I braced myself.

His response was instant. “Jesus, Abbie. I've been trying to get a hold of you.”

Instead of fear or anger when I looked at his almost too handsome features, numbness surrounded me. “Yeah, I heard. I've been a bit tied up with school.”

His brows drew down, making his handsome face seem harsher. “You can’t just vanish like that, Abbie. I was worried.”