door and wait for a few seconds of silence to pass before saying, “I think I’m going to go to the diner for dinner…” Because I’m hungry as shit and I wasn’t sure if they had plans or… I don’t know what’s going on. I’d been so busy in the barn that I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten. And neither of them had come out once to check in on me. I don’t think they even left the house—which is odd. Last year, they were always outside, sitting on the porch, watching me work.
“Okay!” Mia calls out.
“Did you… want to come with?”
“No. We’re okay.”
“Did you want me to pick up something for you?”
“No.”
“Okay, then… I’m going now.”
“Okay.”
I wait a few seconds, and when nothing else comes, I quickly shower and leave.
When I get back, they’re both still in his room, their hushed voices filtering out from under the door. I don’t hear what they say, and I force myself not to listen. All I know is something’s changed, and I have no idea what it is.
I’ve almost fallen asleep in her bed when I hear the creaking of the door. A crack of light filters through, and then leaves again. Clothes shift, the mattress dips, and then warmth heats my side. “Hi,” I whisper, and Mia jolts, just an inch.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I flick on the lamp and then roll to my side to face her. She’s lying on her back, her gaze to the ceiling, eyes lost. “What’s going on, Mia?”
Her stare doesn’t shift. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’ve been weird ever since you came back from the dentist, and then you locked yourself in your grandpa’s room the whole day talking under your breath.”
Her eyes snap to mine. “Did you hear what we were saying?”
I shake my head. “No. No clue. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
Her nostrils flair with her exhale, and she goes back to staring at the ceiling. “It’s just family stuff.”
“Like, with your dad?” I ask, trying to get something out of her.
“No. It’s…” Sighing, she turns to her side. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. I promise.” She runs her nose across mine, and then she kisses me, and the kiss erases all worries, all fears, and when her hand slides through my hair, I moan into her mouth, kiss her harder, deeper, until there’s nothing between us—no space, no air.
No questions.
Her knees part, and I crawl into the space between them, gliding my hand up her side to remove her top. “We have to be quiet,” she whispers, and I nod. “And quick,” she adds, and I nod again.
When it’s over, she lays naked in my arms, her head to my chest, mindlessly tracing the outlines of my stomach muscles. “I wanted to run something by you.” I stroke my fingers through her hair. “I want to tell my dad about you—about us—when he comes tomorrow.”
She sits up a little, resting her forearms on my chest so she can look down at me.
“I know you said that you didn’t want him knowing because he might tell Virginia, but he won’t,” I rush out. “If I tell him not to, he won’t. And I don’t want you disappearing. I want him to see you.”
Her gaze drops, lingering on my throat, before moving up again. “Why?”
I shrug. “Because I don’t want to hide you,” I tell her, shifting loose strands of hair behind her ear to see her face clearer. “And because I like to share all the good things that happen in my life with him.”
Her lips kick up at the corners. “And I’m good?” she asks.
“Mia, you’re the fucking best.”
Her head drops, her giggle catching against my chest. When she’s settled, she sucks in a breath, then says, “Okay.”
“Good…” And suddenly I’m nervous about bringing up what I want to say next because we haven’t discussed it, and I don’t know how she’s going to feel about it. “So… I was looking at flights for Thanksgiving break…” Her entire body stiffens in my arms, and so I continue before she can tell me no. “If I book them super early, then I can get a reasonable price. And I don’t know about Christmas, but I was thinking… I wouldn’t mind being there for New Year’s, see the ball drop or whatever.” And because I’m nervous and can’t seem to shut up, I add, “It’ll be fun….”