Page 121 of Save Your Breath

She bit her lip, eyes searching mine. “You really think I should do this.”

Not a question.

“I really do.”

She smiled then, one big enough to reveal that dimple in her left cheek that I loved so much. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” I said. Then, I groaned as I stretched and maneuvered to stand, pretending like an old man as I crackedmy back and Mia laughed. “Now, come on. Let me get my girl cleaned up.”

We took a long, hot shower together — one that was very difficult not to turn into another round as Mia let me lather her up and wash her. But I could see in her eyes that she was exhausted, so I behaved myself, even though there was a very big part of me wondering if this would be the only time, if the spell would be broken in the morning.

She didn’t seem angry with me anymore, but we hadn’t talked about it. I still had no idea where her head had been these last couple of months.

So I definitely had no idea what tomorrow would bring.

When I was finished in the shower, I kissed Mia’s wet hair, leaving her to shower alone and take a moment to herself while I cleaned up in the living room. I unzipped the cover to the bean bag and threw it in the wash, smirking to myself at how Mia had made jokes about all the girls I’d fucked on it and then, in reality, she’d been the only one.

By the time she ambled out of the shower wrapped in one of my large bath sheets, I’d made us both a tray of snacks from my hurricane prep food stash, and we ate them with sleepy smiles before I grabbed one of my t-shirts for Mia to sleep in.

She curled up in my bed without me having to ask, and I took that as a win.

But when I slid into the expensive sheets with her, wrapping her up in my arms and pulling her flush against me, I didn’t feel comforted. My mind raced, heart jackhammering in my chest the more I thought about asking her what this meant, and then chickened out every time. When I finally found the balls to say something, my voice was weak, quiet.

“Mia?”

No response.

“Mia,” I said again, leaning up enough to peek at her face.

She was sound asleep.

I did my best to follow her lead, knowing all my questions would have to wait for the morning sun.

King of Fragile Egos

Mia

Everything moved at hyper speed once the sun broke through the clouds the next morning.

My phone was ringing from down the hall at the same time Aleks’s began to buzz on the table. We broke away reluctantly from where we were snuggled in his giant bed, but Aleks kept a hand on my thigh while he checked his phone.

“Storm missed us,” he said, his morning voice gravelly. “The eye hit the panhandle, but it looks like it weakened to a tropical storm. They’re assessing damage, but hopefully other than some power outages, flooding from the surge, and downed trees, everything should be okay.”

I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until he said that last part. “Really?”

He squeezed where he held me. “Storm surge was only a few feet. Really shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I want to help,” I said immediately. “I’m going to tell my assistant to be at the ready to send money to the panhandle or wherever they need assistance. There has to be some way we can help — bottled water or rehoming people who need it.”

I threw the covers off me as my phone rang again from down the hall, but Aleks held firm to my leg until I looked back at him. He had a sleepy smile on his face, his eyes warm.

“Not enough to be the biggest pop star on the planet, you have to save the world, too?”

I stuck my tongue out at him, surprising both of us when I planted a kiss on his lips before popping up out of the bed.

My cheeks flushed.

Was I allowed to kiss him without cameras around now that it was daylight?