The entire weekend passed without a word from Serena about what had happened between her and Abbie. Casey started to assume Serena wasn't the type who'd kiss and tell, but the more she thought about it the more she knew that wasn't right. If Abbie were her girlfriend, she could see why Serena would refuse to tell, but Abbie wasn't her girlfriend and she had no romantic feelings for her whatsoever. Abbie was purely bragging rights for Serena, yet Serena wasn't even bragging. Every time she would try to bring up her night with Abbie, Serena would change the subject or shrug it off. Something isn't right about this, Casey thought. She would have continued to interrogate Serena, but Serena had gone from shrugging it off to becoming annoyed and the last thing Casey wanted to do was lose the only friend she had at school, so she decided to let it go.

Casey had wanted to spend more time with Alex that weekend, but in the midst of all their excitement and nervousness they had forgotten to exchange any contact information. She had neither Alex's phone number nor her address, but even though Casey didn't get to talk to her or spend any time with her, Alex was still weighing heavily on her mind. She spent the rest of her weekend fantasizing about their kiss. It might not have been the most passionate kiss, but Casey knew there was no other woman she would rather be kissing. Often, she would get lost in her fantasies of kissing Alex and take them to the next level. She'd start to fantasize about how soft Alex's skin must feel and what it would be like to make love to her. The fantasies excited Casey, but she refused to do anything about them out of guilt. Alex was a beautiful, kind-hearted woman and she wasn't about to take advantage of her. Casey wasn't sure what would become of this fling they were having, but she knew if they ever did make love to each other it would be the most intense experience of her life.

When Casey and Serena took their seats in Professor Stuart's class that Monday morning, she noticed Abbie and Serena both seemed so depressed. Serena was usually a good student, but she spent that entire class session doodling in her notebook and gazing at Abbie. It wasn't the lustful gaze she had given her the other night. Rather, Serena was gazing at her adoringly.

So, that's what this is about, Casey thought. Those two want each other. It's not purely physical, but they can't have each other until the semester is over. Thank goodness Alex isn't an assistant. There you go thinking about Alex again. Stop it, Casey. You're in class. Time to focus. Focus, Casey.

"Are you okay?" Serena whispered.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just smacked yourself on the forehead right now," Serena told her. Casey didn't believe her until she saw that her professor and her classmates were staring at her.

"Is there a problem, Miss Novak?" Professor Stuart asked.

"No problem at all," Casey responded. She wanted to run out of that classroom, but she knew it was only a matter of time before everyone took their focus off of her. All throughout her undergraduate years, she had never been called out in class the way she had just been right now and it was all because of Alex. Alex was making her lose focus, but Casey didn't mind a single bit. She was willing to put up with one embarrassing moment after another if it meant getting to be with Alex.

As soon as class ended, Abbie approached the two of them. Casey had noticed she had lost all of her confidence the moment she was face-to-face with them and so did Serena.

"Hi," Abbie said sheepishly.

"Hi," Serena told her.

"Casey, I have something for you," Abbie said to her. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it over to Casey, who unfolded it right away. Written on that tiny strip of paper, was Alex's phone number with a note next to it that said, "Call me anytime." Casey knew Alex wouldn't have written that if she knew what she was getting herself into. Now that she had Alex's phone number and permission to use it, she was going to call her at least two or three times a day.

"Alex's phone number," Serena mentioned. "You and Alex are roommates, so does that mean this is your phone number, too?"

"I knew you were brilliant," Abbie said. Casey noticed she had started reaching for Serena's hand, but had to quickly pull back. "I'm really sorry."

"So am I," Serena told her.

"You know I want to more than anything, but I—"

"I know," Serena interrupted. "I wish it were—"

"So do I," Abbie said. They were saying absolutely nothing and everything at the same time and all Casey could do was watch everything unfold in front of her. There was more to this situation than they were willing to share with her, but Casey just had to find out.

"See you in class on Wednesday?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, bright and early," Abbie responded.

Once they were walking back to their dorm, Casey noticed the glum look on Serena's face had returned. "Serena, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it Abbie?" Casey asked.

Just hearing her name set Serena off. "You're so lucky, Casey. You can have Alex all you want. You can hold her hand in public. You can go on dates with her. If you wanted, you could announce to the whole school that you kissed her. I can't do any of that with Abbie."

Casey was taken aback. "So, you and Abbie—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Serena said angrily.

As was becoming routine, Alex stood outside of the classroom waiting for Abbie. She was also hoping to catch Casey on her way out, but she had just missed her.

"More copies to make?" Alex asked.

"You know it," Abbie responded. "Welcome to week two of me being Stuart's bitch."

"I can still talk to my uncle Bill," Alex casually suggested.

"Alex," Abbie groaned.

"I'm just throwing it out there," Alex reassured her.

"I know," Abbie finally smiled. "I gave Casey the note."

"And?" Alex asked excitedly.

"She looked like a kid with a new toy. You know that girl is going to call you five times a day."

"That's what I'm hoping," Alex said dreamily. "What was it like seeing Serena again?"

"Excruciating."

"Is she upset that you two didn't have sex?"

"She's upset, but not because of that," Abbie began. "Alex, there's something I didn't tell you. Serena and I did have sex that night and, call me a cornball if you'd like, but it was life-altering."

"But you—"

"Alex, Alex," Abbie interrupted and shook her head. "You should know me well enough to know that I'm a machine. Me with performance anxiety? Please."

"Then why did you tell me you didn't have sex with her?"

"I knew the whole lie about performance anxiety would get you off my back," Abbie told her. "I love you, Alex, but you're a hopeless romantic and I'm the exact opposite."

"But you like Serena, don't you?"

Alex turned her head and saw that her best friend was actually blushing.

"It's too soon to tell," Abbie told her. "But I know I like spending time with her. This wasn't some 'hit it and quit it' thing with her. When we had sex, it didn't last too long because we couldn't wait. We were both too excited to hold back. After that, we started talking and the kid kind of grew on me. I think I developed what you people call a heart."

"Abbie Carmichael has a heart?" Alex asked in disbelief. "There's no way."

"I know," Abbie said. "I don't want one. I was fine before. I was happy. I was—"

"You were missing something," Alex pointed out. "You were missing a beautiful blonde, but you didn't know it yet."

"No way," Abbie told her. "I've had one for the past two years. She's been my sidekick and my best friend and I could never have adjusted to this snooty school without her."

"Abbie?"

"What?"

"I'm completely flattered, but you're changing the subject."

Abbie sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Why does she have to be my student, Alex? The only woman I've ever been interested in seeing and she just happens to be my student."

"She wouldn't be your student if you let me talk to Uncle Bill," Alex pointed out. The look on Abbie's face let Alex know that wasn't the solution. Abigail Carmichael was the most stubborn woman she had ever met and there was no way she was going to budge.

There was still time before her first class began, so Alex decided to grab a cup of coffee and go through some of her notes. She tried to be productive, but she kept getting lost in thoughts about Casey. She had wanted to talk to her all weekend and, she would never have admitted it to Abbie, but she waited outside of Casey's building in hope that she would catch her on her way out. Her efforts might have been in vain, but she had a feeling her luck was going to change. Casey now had her phone number and she hoped she would use it and use it often.