Katerine "Kit" Tanner has survived a year without her mother. With her sister, Rae's help, she tries to move on with her life. She goes back to school; she moves into a new apartment building; and she meets a fantastic woman named Hailee Quinn who is part of a queer improv group on campus. When Hailee invites Kit along for some fast laughs, it should be an easy decision to change her life and open her heart again.
The problem? Hailee is a bit too much for Kit. Tall, loud, and smart as a whip, Hailee Quinn has is a smarty pants extraordinaire -- but she comes by it honestly. A childhood stutter, plus her bisexuality, means she spends a lot of time feeling erased. Now she's determined to not let that happen ever again.
Can both of these strong, hard-headed women put their past behind them and fall in love? Or will they only be able to share jokes -- and bad ones, at that -- while their friends' lives bloom around them?
"How’s your conference going?"
"Oh, don't remind me. Tell me more about your place. The walls. The kitchen. The bed ..."
"Ah, well, it's exactly like your place. Except I'm here. And I'm alone."
"Tell me more," Hailee said. She could hear the sultry tone in her own voice. She hoped Kit could hear it too. When the silence lingered too long, Hailee sighed. "I really need to help you break in that bed."
"This bed has seen some times," Kit said. "But yes, I'd like you to christen this place. The first night is always so hard for me."
"I should have let you watch Tootsie," Hailee said. "I put him in a kennel for the weekend. But dogs always make a place feel that much more like home."
"Hmm. Would you mind if I got him early tomorrow, then?"
"Not at all. In fact, I insist on it." Hailee gave Kit the information, and soon, she heard her settle back in on the bed. She gave her some more details about the move, like how the van rental place had screwed up the time, so they were only able to get it at four in the afternoon, which meant they were moving until nearly eight at night. "Yessina is a ninja, though. She was the quietest mover I have ever seen. She's convinced it's another job opportunity now."
"Probably is. I should look for another job."
"That bad today, huh?"
Hailee sighed. She hated to dwell on negative elements, but she told Kit as much as she could. The call with Indie. Rebecca's cold shoulder. "And apparently, I'm a bully." She sighed. When Kit didn't respond, Hailee felt her chest tighten. "This is usually the place where you reassure me in some way."
"I don't know well enough to determine whether or not that's all true," Kit went on, "but I can tell you that I think bossy is sort of hot."
"What?"
"Yeah," Kit said slowly. "I think you're hot. And if you're bossy, then --"
"I'm a bully," Hailee said, "a very different thing."
"But you're still hot."
Hailee huffed. She wanted Kit to prove Indie wrong, not subtly agree and then turn it into a kink. She was about to argue, yet again, but she remind quiet. Kit was the first to speak.
"You're telling me you haven't come across a bossy minx in your erotica reading? Someone who is all Devil Wears Prada and is super hot in doing so?"
"Maybe. But that's not me."
"Sure, and I'm not a little virginal lamb," Kit said, her tone serious and surly at the same time. "But it's a fun role to play, yeah?"
"Maybe."
"Yeah. So you should treat me like that. I’ll treat you like that. And it can be a nice erotica fantasy together."
Hailee shuddered. She shifted on the bed, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "Are you saying we should be writing partners?"
"I'm saying we should have phone sex at the very least," Kit said. "I'm achy and sore all over, and I'm lonely my first night in this place. So help to tell me a story to fall asleep to."
"Where I'm the boss and you're my ..."
"Oh," Kit said, cutting Hailee off. "What if you're my bossy teacher who won't let me hand in a late grade, and I'm a virginal student who needs this class for my degree. And so I have to give you my virginity in order to pass?"
"Whoa," Hailee said. Her body flushed with heat and arousal. "That's so exploitative, though. I would never do that."
"I wouldn’t offer up my flower for a grade, either. Especially since that was not even close to intact when I reached university." Kit laughed a little. "But that's the fun, right?"
"Maybe ..." Hailee considered the scenario. The moment she gave herself permission to indulge, the entire thing emerged before her like a movie set. She saw the classroom -- not any of hers -- and she saw the assignment. She saw Kit in her university sweater, failing the class, and this as the only option. She saw herself as a strict disciplinarian, tough as nails on her late policy, but with a soft spot for Kit.
"Are you still there?" Kit asked. "We haven’t even started and I'm already so wet."
"I know. I am. I just ... Okay, let's do this." Hailee laid back in the bed. She recounted the scene she had in her head to Kit.
"I need to beg for this," Kit added. She depicted Hailee walking away when Kit suggested that she hand in the assignment late, and Kit reached out for her hand. Tugging on it. "Our eyes meet, and the solution becomes clear to you."
"There is one way you can make up your late grade," Hailee said, making her tone sound as seductive as the scene was. She went back and forth with Kit, building the image of their liaison together. The sex finally started after some heavy handed negotiations. Kit was supposed to undress first, and then lie back naked on the desk.
"Show me your work," Hailee said.
