Free Blurred Lines by M. Lynne Cunning

was using someone as nice as Dean the way she was. Perhaps Sarah was a bit more vindictive than Lauren thought she was.
    “Just trying to find my place in this room, I suppose.”
    “Your place is wherever the pen in your hand or the keys under your fingers takes you,” Dean said with a grin. “Wherever that is, I still hope I can be somewhere close by.”
    What a thoughtful thing to say. She made a mental note to use it in her novel later that night. Dean always seemed to come up with the most poetic things to say. His words had been repeated on the pages she wrote numerous times in the past few days. Though not formally partners in their creative writing class for the last few assignments, Lauren couldn’t help but consult Dean and his creative mind. It was intriguing how the two of them could receive the same assignment from Anthony and yet submit two very different assignments based on their interpretation of the instructions.
    “I think you should go out with me sometime, Sarah.” Dean was leaning sideways in his chair just after class. His legs were sprawled out in front of him and he turned his head to catch Lauren’s gaze in his. It wasn’t the first time those words had formed on his lips, and Lauren was aware he was once again preparing himself for her to reject his proposal.
    “We’ve been through this, Dean.” Lauren attempted to give him a half smile, not wanting to be rude as she let him down as gently as she could. “You’re great, I’ve told you that. I just can’t go out with anyone right now. I have to focus on the course and my writing. That’s why I'm here.”
    Dean’s eyes glinted with a hint of humor. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard you telling me that. However, I’m here for the same reasons you are, Sarah. Meeting someone like you at the same time just wasn’t a part of the enrollment package I had expected.”
    When he said things like that, it became more and more difficult for her to ignore his advances. Lauren couldn’t deny their connection, both physically and creatively. She may have been playing hard to get, leading him on unfairly, but she knew she was giving him subtle signals and vague comments that were feeding his attraction and coaxing him to continue his quest to take their relationship beyond the literary level. The thing was, Lauren was beginning to find fewer and fewer reasons to ignore him any longer. Sure, she was still married to her husband and still living under the pretense of being someone else entirely, but she was beginning to feel that she was getting better at it, somehow able to distinguish between the actions Lauren was taking and the ones done by Sarah.
    The guilt she’d been plagued by in her first days of being in New York had been replaced by excitement and intrigue by the situation she’d never planned on putting herself in. As chapter upon chapter of her novel poured from her each evening as she sat in front of her computer monitor, she felt unstoppable, almost invincible. She had Dean to thank for that, but ultimately the drive and bravery had come from Sarah.
    Sarah. The woman with an abundance of confidence, an appeal that made men stop and take notice of her, and a drive to get what she truly wanted from life. Sarah and Lauren were nothing alike.
    “It’s been three weeks since classes started,” Dean said. “Go out with me once. You never know, you might enjoy yourself. Then I’ll let you get back home to that book you’re always slaving away on.” During one of their impromptu conversations between classes, Lauren had surprised herself by confiding in Dean about the novel she’d been writing. She had to be careful not to mention the previous book she’d written and published, needing to hide her true identity, but she’d felt relief at being able to discuss the romantic plot line so openly.
    “You’ll not stop at only going out once, Dean,” Lauren admonished.
    “You mean I’ll be begging for more? How self-assured you are.”