Chapter 8

Wendy Sims quickly stepped inside her door and closed it. Then she leaned her back against the door, covering her face with her hands. She couldn't believe she had just kissed David Hodges—and she had enjoyed it.

Was it possible she actually had feelings for Hodges? Possible that she'd had these feelings for a while but it took some jealousy to bring it out? Wendy shook her head. Her thoughts were too much—too much because she knew it was true. She had feelings for David Hodges.

Wendy shook her head again. She didn't want to believe the truth. She thought David was obnoxious, self-absorbed, deluded, intelligent and handsome.

"Gggrrrr!" she growled at her own thoughts. She did not need this complication in her life. Especially since Hodges already had a girlfriend!

Wendy slowly walked back to her bedroom. It's just the alcohol, she told herself. Tomorrow, I'll laugh at it all. But somewhere inside, a little voice told her she wouldn't soon shake these feelings.

Ellen Lee was a little dumbfounded. She couldn't believe the night's events. Well, actually she could. She'd witnessed them first hand.

She'd watched her boyfriend, David Hodges, slip away from her all night. The more he and Wendy talked, the more Ellen had faded in to the background. She had thought that David might have feelings for Wendy, but was now absolutely positive. She also knew that David would never feel the same way about her.

Ellen let out a sigh. She really liked David. He was smart and funny, if not a bit self-aggrandizing. But it made for never a dull date. Plus she was learning a lot of interesting things she could use in her novels.

Hell, even the night's events would make for a remarkable rewrite of the chapters her editor didn't like. It was just a shame that the price of a few good chapters was going to be a really good boyfriend.

David Hodges walked in to the lab, a little extra bounce in his step. He had thought he would be dead tired, having not slept since he left Wendy's doorstep. But he was surprisingly alert. Maybe it had something to do with the lightness in his heart. He only hoped no one noticed because he hadn't thought of a good lie yet—and wasn't like he was going to go around saying he kissed Wendy.

As he walked down the hall, he spied Wendy, already hard at work in the DNA lab. He figured that she had gotten to work early. He wondered if maybe she hadn't gotten much sleep either.

Wendy turned to see Hodges right as he passed by the window. He smiled as she noticed him. She couldn't help the reflexive smile that crossed her lips. Then, remembering they were at work, she quickly changed her expression and hoped no one had seen. Unfortunately, someone had.

Mandy Webster's jaw dropped when she saw the look that passed between Wendy and Hodges. Everyone had know Hodges had a thing for Wendy, but the opposite was true too? This was just too good. Mandy quickly left her station to talk to Wendy.

"So you and Hodges, huh?" Mandy asked as soon as she was within earshot.

"Pfft! No!" Wendy tried to dismiss her a little too enthusiastically, giving away her lie.

"I saw that smile," Mandy teased.

Wendy's cheeks reddened. She had been caught. She cleared her throat and then said softly, "Hodges kissed me last night."

"What?!" Mandy exclaimed. Then, in a whisper, "What? What happened? Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

Wendy nodded. "He was actually out on a date with his girlfriend when I ran in to him."

"He kissed you while he was on a date with his girlfriend?" Mandy squeaked.

"Well, he kissed me after the date," Wendy replied, trying to defend herself.

Mandy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You have got to tell me the whole story."

"I will, I will," she promised. "But not now."

"Ok," Mandy giddily responded and then headed back to her station. She couldn't wait until their lunch break to hear all the juicy details.

David Hodges sat at his workstation, performing a test he had performed thousands of times before and could do with his eyes closed. This was probably a good thing, since he wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing. His thoughts were on the previous night's events and what they meant.

Hodges's eventual conclusion was that he had to break up with Ellen. Although he cared for her greatly, he didn't feel the same way about her as he did Wendy. And it just wasn't fair to Ellen to string her along, even if Wendy didn't feel the same. He pulled out his cell phone, not wanting to keep her a second longer than necessary.

"Hey David," Ellen answered her phone.

"Hi Ellen," David quietly replied.

"Oh." It slipped out.

"Oh?" David was confused.

"You've figured it out," Ellen tried to enlighten him.

David smiled to himself. Ellen was much smarter than he gave her credit for. "I have figured it out," he confirmed. "Ellen, you're the best, most wonderful woman I've ever dated. But…" he tried to find the right words to continue.

"I'm not Wendy," she finished for him.

"You're not Wendy," he answered.

"And I'm ok with that," she told him. "I've had a lot of fun and after last night, this isn't unexpected."

"Ellen, I just, don't know what to say," he responded.

"Good-bye, David."

"Good-bye, Ellen," he said and then hung up. Now to go talk to Ecklie.