shaking I’m so happy.
Josh: Are you done working for the day?
Mia: Yes. My brain is totally fried. I feel like celebrating.
Josh: Want to come over here?
She’d been thinking more along the lines of going out somewhere for celebratory drinks, but she could understand why Josh might not be into that. And she didn’t care that much where they went or didn’t go. What mattered was that she had someone to share this moment of accomplishment with.
Thirty minutes later she knocked on the door of Josh’s farmhouse. He swept her up in a congratulatory hug, lifting her clean off the floor. Kicking the door closed behind them, he spun her around before setting her on the floor and kissing her hard enough to make her dizzy. Then he took her by the hand and led her to the kitchen where he’d set out a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“I bought it this week,” he told her. “I figured I should have some on hand for whenever you solved your proof.”
He really had believed in her. Enough to spend almost a hundred dollars of his hard-earned money on an expensive bottle of champagne. But it wasn’t only that. All week he’d been supportive and encouraging, checking in on her but understanding her need to focus. Letting her know he cared without placing demands on her.
The pure excitement on his face—excitement for her, over an achievement he didn’t even fully understand—inspired a giddy, tender rush of feelings. She threw herself at him, peppering his face with delighted kisses until he let out a warm, throaty laugh.
All thoughts of champagne fled from her mind as she captured his still smiling mouth with hers. He kissed her back hungrily, letting her know without words how much he’d missed her. When his teeth tugged at her bottom lip, her body lit up like Times Square and she let out a lustful moan.
Her backside hit the counter, his hands grabbed her thighs, and he picked her up, spinning her as his mouth continued to devour her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her upstairs to his bedroom.
They didn’t get around to drinking the champagne until much, much later that night.
Naked.
In Josh’s bed.
Mid-October brought the first cool front of the season, dropping the humidity and temperature to something approaching pleasant for a few days. It wasn’t exactly the sort of crisp autumn weather Mia was used to seeing this time of year, but it at least made her want to spend more time outdoors.
“It won’t last,” Josh warned her as they watched the sunset from his porch swing.
And of course, he was right. Summer came raging back a few days later, nearly as hot and sticky as before.
By then, they’d settled into the habit of spending weekends together at the farm. They saw less of each other during the week when Mia was busier, but sometimes on weeknights Josh would come over to her apartment for a couple hours after he’d finished the evening milking.
Mia’s advisor had emailed her back almost immediately and encouraged her to submit her proof to the Annals of Mathematics, one of the discipline’s top journals—if not the top. Now that she had independent confirmation that she wasn’t completely off base, she’d begun writing up her paper for submission. On top of that, midterms were upon them, and her office hours were busier than usual. At night she brought home stacks of exams to grade while Josh sat next to her on the couch reading.
He eventually got around to teaching her how to milk a goat. Even better, he let her bottle-feed some of the newborn kids, which she liked much better than milking. As she got more comfortable at the farm, she even started helping with a few of the chores. Her. The New York City girl. Collecting eggs. Feeding the pigs. Settling into farm life.
Everything was easy and comfortable with Josh.
Maybe a little too comfortable.
As the end of their first month together approached, Mia realized they hadn’t been anywhere other than dinner at Birdie’s a couple times, which hardly counted as going out. She knew Josh preferred to stay in rather than go out, but she also knew he went into town regularly for groceries and supplies for the farm. It wasn’t like he never went anywhere.
Surely a date wasn’t too much to ask? It wasn’t like they were hiding the fact that they were spending time together. Andie knew, and so did Wyatt. And of course