A/N: Sorry I'm being slow with the updates again! I'm doing my best, but inspiration has been hard to find recently. I hope you like this chapter... and please keep reviewing! I love the support I'm getting so far. You guys are great.

Also, it's really annoying me that I can't indent my paragraphs. Does anyone know how to fix that? I feel like it looks so sloppy without indents, but when I paste the text into here they all disappear. Help!

Chapter 7

They walked back to school together, giggling like schoolchildren after their close encounter with Lauren's past. The two women had to part ways immediately after arriving at the building so Bo could teach her sixth period class.

Bo had a busy rest of the day, culminating in an English department meeting after school that lasted until 5:30pm and made her brain feel like mush from the boredom. She walked down the now deserted hall back to her classroom. The students had turned in their summer reading essays that day and she had promised to have them graded by the end of the week. That meant she had to get through reading a two-foot tall stack of papers in the next two days. She hung up her blazer, sat down at her desk, and got to work.

An hour and a half later, Bo was barely a quarter of the way through the pile. She had completely lost track of time when her phone buzzed next to her.

I can see your classroom light on from down the hall. Why are you still at school? L.

Bo smiled and typed out a reply, thankful to be reading something other than poorly written essays. I've got a ton of papers to grade and I can't accomplish anything at home—too many distractions. Why are you still at school? B.

It was less than a minute before her phone buzzed. I totally get that. I can't accomplish anything at home either, so I'm hanging out here to plan my lessons for tomorrow. Bo started typing a reply, but her phone buzzed again. Am I a distraction? ;)

You're the good kind of distraction. She wrote back

Bo was worried when Lauren didn't reply right away, but all worried thoughts left her head when she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Lauren appeared in the doorway looking just as flawless as she had at lunch. Her glasses had again been pushed up on top of her head and she had rolled up the sleeves of her button down to reveal her thin, toned forearms. She had pulled her hair back into a bun, showing off her strong jawline.

Bo leaned back in her chair. "Hey," she said.

"Hi," Lauren replied.

"How was the rest of your day?"

"Boring," Lauren said, walking into the room and sitting down on top of one of the desks in the front row, directly in front of Bo. "How about you?"

"Same. I had fun at lunch today, though," Bo laughed.

"Oh, god." Lauren buried her head in her hands. "That was so embarrassing. I tutored that woman's daughter in math for like one year in high school and she thinks we're best friends or something. And she almost caught me smoking! She would have called my mother in an instant. I would have died."

Bo stood from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk, leaning back against it. "Do your parents live around here?" She asked.

"They retired and moved to Florida. The winters here were too much for them I think. I don't get it. I hate the hot weather."

"Really? Me too!" Bo replied. "I've always loved going to the beach for day or two, but I could never live there year-round. I'd miss the cold too much. Something about sitting by the fire while it snows outside is really comforting to me. Most people think I'm crazy"

"No, I understand you completely. That's one of the reasons I love it here. There's no pressure to maintain a bikini body when you wear sweaters all year." They both laughed.

Bo blushed a little, picturing Lauren's 'bikini body.' "Oh, come on. You're in great shape. I can't imagine anything that wouldn't look good on you." She blurted out, realizing too late that it might sound a little too forward. "I mean, um… you're like super fit and… yeah." Bo was never lost for words, but here I am, she thought, fumbling like an idiot. "I can never find anything cute that fits my boobs. Once you reach a certain size, it's all 'function over style.' It's like 'buh-bye, sex appeal'" Okay, seriously, stop talking, she scolded herself, wincing slightly.

"I think it would be pretty hard for you to lose your sex appeal," Lauren chuckled.

Bo blushed again. No one had ever made her this nervous this quickly before. She looked down at the floor, scuffing the toe of her black pumps against the ground. "Thanks, uh… you too."

"Oh, please," Lauren huffed. "I'm about as sexy as Bill Nye the Science Guy."

"Wrong," Bo said, trying to find her confidence again. "You're about as nerdy as Bill Nye the Science Guy. You're about as sexy as most 'hot librarian' fantasies."

"People have hot librarian fantasies? That's a thing?" Lauren asked, laughing out loud.

"Oh totally," Bo smiled, putting on a deep, alluring tone. "Excuse me, Miss, but that book is three weeks over due. You're going to have to pay a fine… unless we can work out a deal."

They both cracked up, laughing until tears sprung up in their eyes. Bo carefully dabbed at her cheeks, hoping her eyeliner wasn't running.

"Oh, wait. Come here," Lauren said, after wiping the tears from her own cheeks.

Bo cautiously stepped towards her, slightly confused.

Lauren put her glasses back over her eyes as she focused on Bo's face and reached up, fingertips brushing against Bo's cheek. "You have an eyelash," she murmured as she picked it up and held out her finger. "Make a wish."

They were standing close enough that Bo could see the specks of gold in Lauren's brown eyes. There was a quiet, yet comfortable, moment as they both just looked at each other. Finally, Bo tore her eyes away from Lauren's and looked down at Lauren's hand, carefully blowing the eyelash away. She forgot to make a wish.

Bo looked up again to meet Lauren's gaze, but she had dropped her eyes to the floor, blushing slightly. Without really think about it, Bo tucked a stray lock of hair behind Lauren's ear. She looked back up at Bo.

"What did you wish for, Bo?" Lauren asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Bo glanced down at Lauren's lips, loving the shape they made when she said her name. For a moment, all she wanted was to make a move and kiss her until the world stopped turning.

But then she remembered where they were. Lauren was her best—and only—real friend in this town. They worked together. There were so many reasons for Bo not to kiss her right now.

She took a step back. "Um, I just wished I would get all of these essays graded before winter break," she joked.

Lauren cleared her throat, not unaware of what had almost happened. She hopped off the desk and adjusted her glasses, which had started to slide down her nose. Does she know how hot that is? Bo wondered. I totally have a hot librarian fetish.

"Well, it's pretty late. I'm gonna head home, I think. Good luck with those papers." Lauren turned to leave.

"Thanks. And I had a really great time today. We should get lunch together more often," Bo said, a little disappointed that Lauren was leaving.

"Totally. I'll text you." And with that, Lauren was gone.

Bo sighed and then yawned. It was late, after all, and all of a sudden she was very tired. She packed up her things and grabbed her car keys. Her brain was swirling with thoughts of Lauren the entire car ride back to her apartment.