18
JOHN
I wake up with one of Mia’s arms draped across my chest, and her leg bent at the knee on top of mine. I don’t want to wake her, so I lay there quietly. My mind starts drifting. Last night was absolutely incredible. I felt so connected to Mia it was almost overwhelming. I was nervous that it might be too much for me, but there was no way in hell I could stop once she gave me the green light. A part of me hopes it wasn’t a mistake. I had been hesitant to stay the night, worried I might have a night terror. It’s been a few weeks since my last one, and I never know when it’s gonna happen. Ultimately, I couldn’t bring myself to leave her. I’m glad I stayed, and I remind myself to not overthink or stress about it.
Mia stirs next to me and stretches, slowly opening her eyes. I smile at her when her eyes find mine. She curls onto her side, facing me. Her blonde hair is a wavy mess surrounding her face, and she has never looked more beautiful.
“I like waking up next to you,” I tell her.
“Me too,” she replies with a lazy smile.
I shift onto my side and prop my elbow up on the pillow. “What do you have planned today?”
She runs a hand through her hair as she thinks. “I do need to go into town and pick up some groceries. Probably stop and see Julie and Hazel. I might bring my laptop; I actually have a lot of work to get done today.” She looks at me regretfully. “Is that okay? I don’t want you to feel used after last night, that I got what I needed, and now I’m kicking you to the curb…” She says all this with a smirk, so I know she’s kidding.
I grin back at her and tickle her side until she’s squirming and begging me to stop. “I see how it is… no, it’s all good. I have some stuff I need to get done today too. Probably go check on Rose. Do you want to meet later for dinner? Maybe a picnic on the beach?”
Her eyes light up. “Oh, that sounds amazing! Yes, let’s do that!”
We stare at each other for a few minutes, neither one of us wanting to break the spell. I like this little bubble we’re in, and I would be just fine if we never left. It’s easier to forget everything else and just focus on Mia. Eventually, we climb out of bed, and I pull on my shorts from last night while she walks naked to the bathroom, me staring shamelessly. In the kitchen, I make her a bowl of cereal with milk, and place it on the counter right as she ventures into the room.
“Oh, thanks!” She picks up the bowl and scoops a spoonful into her mouth.
“You’re welcome.” I walk towards her, place my hand on her low back, and kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you later. Let me know when you’re ready for dinner.”
“I will,” she says softly, watching me as I head for the door. When I glance back, she’s still watching me, eating her cereal. She gives me a smile before I close the door.
I walk back to the main house, allowing myself to feel the happiness that’s tugging at my chest. It takes a conscious effort to remind myself that it’s okay to let the good things in. Mia makes me happy, and she seems to be somehow helping me get to a better place. Who knows what’s going to happen when she eventually goes back home, but I might as well let her in as much as I can while she’s here. When she leaves, at least she would be leaving me a less broken man than I was before.
After I shower and do my pool chores, I spend the rest of the day at Rose’s, helping her with some computer stuff and organizing her mail. Typically Rose and I don’t talk very much—it’s one of the reasons I like her—but today, she seems to have a million things on her mind.
“You know, I met that cute young lady staying in your cottage. Mia, is it? She sure is a peach. Good looking, too!”
“She is.” I’m trying not to encourage her, so I keep my tone neutral.
“I’ve seen the two of you walking to the beach several times now. It’s nice that she keeps you company. You must get lonely over there all by yourself.”
“I do just fine,” I reply, not wanting to give Rose what she wants, which is gossip.
I manage to tune her out and finish what I came here to do.
“Bye, Rose,” I call out as I leave, instead of my usual wave goodbye.
“Bye, John. Thank you for your help, as always.”
I hop in my car back at my house and run into town to pick up some food for our picnic. I know it’s only been a few hours since I’ve seen her, but it’s been a few hours too long. On my way back, Mia texts that she’ll be ready in twenty minutes.
Back at the house, I set our containers of food from town in the picnic basket. I wasn’t even aware I had a picnic basket here until I looked in the closet in the laundry room. My aunt must have left it for me. Shows how much I pay attention, I guess. The door by the patio slides open, and Mia steps inside.
“Hey!” She walks to me and slips her arm around me. “How are you?” Wrapping my arms around her in a hug, I feel a sense of calm wash over me. I don’t know how to explain what happens to me when she’s around. All I know is I feel instinctively drawn to her. I feel a glimmer of hope for actual happiness when I’m with her.
“I’m so excited to go to the beach; I’ve been inside for most of the day, and I need some fresh air!” She’s wearing jean shorts and a loose gray tank top. Her blonde hair is down and wavy. I’m just about to grab the basket when my phone rings on the counter. Quinn’s name lights up the screen.
“Oohh! Is that your sister?” Mia’s eyebrows lift up in excitement.
“Yeah… I’ll just call her later.” I bring the phone to my pocket, but Mia’s hand stops me.
“Oh no! Don’t not answer because of me. Go ahead, pretend I’m not even here!”
Reluctantly, I answer the phone.
“Hey, Quinn.”
“Hey John, how’s it going?”
“Fine. You?”
“Amazing. Guess what I did yesterday?” I don’t even respond, just wait for her to continue. “Some friends and I went on a tour of Matanuska Glacier… coolest thing ever. They gave us ice cleats, and we explored the whole thing on foot. It was absolutely breathtaking!” Apparently Quinn’s voice is loud enough for Mia to hear, because Mia’s eyes widen, and she lets out a “so cool!” I know she meant for it to be just for me, but my sister instantly picks up on it.
“Who is that? Jonathan! Do you have a woman with you?” she asks pointedly. I sigh, realizing there’s no point in lying to her.
“Yes.”
“Can I speak to her?”
I glance at Mia, who’s clapping her hands together and nodding. I hand her the phone with a shake of my head.
“Quinn? Hi, I’m Mia. It’s so nice to talk to you!” she says. “I’m renting the cottage from John… uh-huh… yes... he’s doing good, we’re about to go to the beach for a picnic.” When I realize this probably won’t be a short conversation, I lean my elbows against the kitchen counter to wait. They talk for about ten more minutes, which doesn’t surprise me. They both like to talk, and Lord knows Mia’s never met a stranger. “Of course. All right, sounds good! Bye!” She hangs up and hands me the phone with a smile. “She says bye.” I can’t help but smile at her. I actually don’t mind that she hijacked my phone call; it saved me from having to dodge all of the questions that Quinn usually has for me. I put my phone in my pocket and grab the basket of food.
“Okay, I’ve got the food and a couple of towels. Ready?”
She nods, and we start our walk to the beach. On the way, we talk—really Mia talks—about what she did today.
“So I went to Julie’s coffee shop this morning to work, and I made the mistake of sitting at the table right next to Hazel.” She laughs. “Gosh, she is so cute. She would not stop talking. She told me all about all of her friends at school. I’m not kidding—each and every one. I hardly got any work done… then I grabbed some groceries. Oh! I grabbed some burgers if you want to grill sometime this week… oh! And then I found this adorable little touristy shop along the main strip in town—” She stops abruptly and looks at me sheepishly.
“Sorry… I’m a rambler. Sometimes I have to remind myself to stop talking.”
I’m actually surprised that I don’t find her rambling overwhelming. Usually, it’s hard to cut through the fog and focus enough to follow along when people are talking fast, but once again, everything is different with Mia. I shake my head and grab her hand. “Don’t change who you are. I like that you’re chatty. I like everything about you.”
She blushes and smiles, squeezing my hand. We find a spot to sit on the sand, lay the towels out next to each other, and set the picnic basket on top. I pull the food containers out, open them, and set them down with the silverware. Since I know she enjoyed the ahi tuna when we had that; I picked us up some poke bowls. Poke is a popular Hawaiian food made of raw fish—I chose ahi tuna this time. I also grabbed some green beans and short ribs in case she wasn’t in the mood for raw fish.
“Oh, you brought wine!” She pulls out a bottle of chardonnay that I brought, as well as the ten-ounce stainless steel tumblers I thought would be perfect for the wine. She opens the bottle and pours some into the tumblers. She sits cross-legged on the towel, and I lay on my side, propped up on my elbow. We eat in silence, enjoying the view, listening to the waves crash onto the shore. After we finish eating and put the empty food containers back in the basket, I sit back down and pat the sand in front of me, motioning for her to sit down. She climbs in between my legs, scooching back until her back is pressed against my chest. She rests her elbows on my knees, which are slightly bent.
“This is nice,” she says, laying her head back to rest against my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, and I feel like I could stay this way for the rest of my life and not want to move. I kiss her temple, and she twists her head around to kiss me on the lips, sending a wave of warmth through me that I realize I’m starting to crave. We sit like that, taking sips of our wine and watching as the sun finally starts to set.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” she whispers.
“It is… just like you.”
“Oh, don’t get cheesy on me now,” she teases me, and I laugh, squeezing her tighter. We stay there until the sun is no longer visible on the horizon, then quietly gather our stuff and walk back to the cottage, hand in hand.