State of Grace | ONGOING

Chapter 15

[Incoming from Unknown: What plant is this?]

The image loaded on my phone, one I was fairly certain was about to be someone's genitals, but I was pleasantly surprised when a different kind of bush loaded to my phone screen. Lilacs, one of my favorites. My family had a lilac tree in the front yard that was so fragrant in the spring time that I would leave my windows open even in the cold days of its early bloom just so my room would smell of lilacs.

[Outgoing to Unknown: Who is this?]

[Incoming from Unknown: Theo]

A smile spread over my face, one I hid behind my laptop as I sat in my fourth year molecular biology class. She'd gotten my number, somehow, and with more than a week having passed since our drunken encounter, I'd started to think maybe she didn't mean it. This text made things confusing.

[Outgoing to Theo: How did you get my number?]

[Incoming from Theo: You never answered my question.]

[Outgoing to Theo: It's a lilac, they're beautiful in the spring, it looks like a mass of plain leaves right now.]

[Incoming from Theo: I told Bo I typed it wrong when you gave it to me and that we had study plans.]

Theo lying to Bo to get my number was both flattering and deeply concerning. I didn't want any more lies between Bo and I. He'd done his part to hide Theo from me, and I'd kissed her. We didn't need to add anything else to our ledger.

[Outgoing to Theo: So you lied?]

[Incoming from Theo: It's not a lie if we make plans. I need to work on the midterm.]

Our midterm project in Business Strategy was due at the beginning of November and she was right that I needed to start work on it. Between not meshing well with the way the professor taught and the distraction of Theo sitting next to me every day, I was already finding a lot of holes in my notes. Having someone to hold me accountable while I worked on the mock business proposal we'd been assigned to do would be useful too.

[Outgoing to Theo: Next week sometime? I'm free Friday afternoon?]

[Incoming from Theo: Friday afternoon it is.]

Sunny poked my leg from her spot next to me. "What's that face for?" She whispered.

I schooled my features back towards something neutral. I shouldn't have been excited about it. The fact that I was made me feel more like a cheater than I already was for having kissed Theo. I'd run the gamut of excuses already in my head. I was drunk. I was exploring my sexuality in a way I'd never had the opportunity to. She didn't like me. I didn't like her. It didn't mean anything.

But she'd gotten my number. She'd texted me about plants, something she knew I was interested in. So maybe it didn't mean nothing.

And yet–"Nothing," I breathed back to Sunny as our professor wrapped up class five minutes early. We packed up our things and headed out into the overcast Oregon day.

"It didn't look like 'nothing'," she said when we stepped outside and were out of the group of our peers.

"It's nothing," I insisted, and she rolled her dark eyes at me.

"You're a terrible liar, Louise Toussaint," she scolded. If only she knew what I was keeping from her right now. "What's going on?"

"It's just plants," I said, showing her the photo on my phone, open so she couldn't see who sent it.